Miracle
by MiracleBreaker
Summary: Death is avoided. A miracle is born. One who should not be in the world of the living has risen. And a new legend will be birthed into the world. blazing with streaks of Ash. Ash Ketchum... What are you? (AU, Progressively goes less canon and grows progressively darker. Begins during the first movie.)
1. Chapter 1: Revival

**Miracle: Hi, if you read this story prior to the existence Chapter 10, I would recommend reading it over again. The story has undergone a massive change, in terms of grammar, tone and clarifications. If this is your first time here… Hello, I am Miracle, the author of this story. Thank you for clicking on this fanfiction. First of all, this fanfiction is written in Canadian English, so if you are American, like the majority of my readers, many things will be spelt slightly differently. Secondly, this story takes place in the anime timeline but will deviate from it as much as possible. Finally, in terms of updates, ever since my first mass editing of this story, I am making sure that everything is written properly (with the exception of author notes) so updates will be slow. If you find an error, please review and show it, so I can change it. Thank you once again for coming here and me and my team of casual editors, hope you enjoy the story.**

[Prologue]

The world of Pokemon…

A world filled to the brim with powerful and diverse creatures known as Pokemon. These creatures, come in many shapes and sizes and inhabit the vast landscapes of their world. They alongside humans live in this world in harmony.

In the world of Pokemon, human children at the age of 10 are eligible to obtain a starter Pokemon, a Pokemon many people keep as a partner for life. For many, these Pokemon are given as a gift by parents or passed down from generation to generation to uphold a family tradition or career. Some kids take their Pokemon with them on journeys and travel the world, seeking adventure, seeking thrill and seeking to see the world that surrounds them. Others stay at home and treat their Pokemon as pets, not interested in thrill or competition, but rather a steady life. Either way, Pokemon and humans depend on each other and thrive together.

The lucky children that are born in a town that hosts a Pokemon Professor also have the choice of choosing a special set of starter Pokemon. In the Kanto Region, this choice is made between Charmander, a Fire-type Pokemon, Squirtle, a Water-type Pokemon and Bulbasaur, a Grass-type Pokemon.

However, there are not always enough Pokemon in a lab to supply every 10-year-old kid in a town, even a town as small as Pallet Town, the home of Professor Oak, the most famous Pokemon Professor in the world, known for his research on how humans and Pokemon interact together.

Enter, Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town. As a young boy, he dreamed of becoming the world's greatest Pokemon Master, a title given to the strongest and most dedicated trainers in the world, but on the day he turned 10, he woke up late. Upon arrival at Professor Oak's laboratory, he was unable to get one of the Kanto starter Pokemon. Instead, he left Pallet town with a rowdy and untamed Pikachu. Though he had a rough start, Ash was undeterred from his path.

On the first days of his journey, Ash made two new friends who stood by his side throughout his Pokemon journey. These friends were none other than, Brock, former leader of the Pewter Gym and Misty, a trainee Gym Leader for the Cerulean Gym. For an entire year, they travelled across the region of Kanto together, meeting new people and Pokemon, seeing new sights and experiencing the highs and lows of the Kanto region. During this time, the bond between him and his Pikachu strengthened to astronomical levels, and the once stubborn electric mouse became his most trusted partner.

As Ash journeyed across Kanto, he managed to obtain 7 of the Gym Badges in Kanto. When a Pokemon trainer obtains 8 of these prestigious badges in a region, they may enter the regional Pokemon League, a chance to prove a trainers ability and obtain the title of Champion, provided they win the tournament and beat the Elite 4 and current Champion of the region. With only one to go, Ash was on his way to get his final badge in Viridian City.

Not everything was good however, the trio also found themselves constantly attacked by a group of thieves known as Team Rocket ever since the first day Ash became a Pokemon Trainer. Led by Giovanni, secret Gym Leader of the Viridian Gym, they terrorize the Kanto region. Their members seek the Kanto region for it's strongest Pokemon in order to take over the world. One such focus is the Legendary Pokemon Mew, the ancestor of all mortal Pokemon, and the most powerful Pokemon, native to Kanto. However, Mew has almost never been seen by mortal eyes for more than three seconds, and the best Team Rocket could do was an attempt to clone the legendary from a thin strand of fur, left on a branch.

This daring operation took Team Rocket many years, but eventually, they had managed to genetically engineer a new Pokemon, Mewtwo. Designed to be even more powerful than Mew, Mewtwo became Team Rocket's most powerful weapon.

However, Mewtwo proved too much to handle for Team Rocket, who not only managed to escape their grasp but also succeeded in destroying one of their most prominent bases on Cinnabar Island in a matter of seconds. Born under the oppression of Team Rocket, Mewtwo became distant of humans and other Pokemon and decided to create his own world, a purer one in his image to overshadow his hate of the previous world.

He created an island and invited many trainers to it, claiming it was a meeting with the world's best Pokemon Master. However, he also used his powers to create an artificial storm that surrounded the island. Naturally, only the strongest and most determined individuals made it to that island.

Somehow, as a rookie trainer with less than a year of experience, Ash Ketchum was one of them.

(Chapter 1: Revival)

* * *

Ash had seen many things in his life. He had seen a Tentacruel, the size of a giant, almost obliterate an entire city. He had put himself between two rival gangs, amidst a brutal and almost bloody feud over an old, damaged town. He had been lost at sea with his friends and survived the wrath of a group of angry Gyarados in the middle of nowhere, while utterly defenceless. In each of those painful memories, he believed nothing could possibly be worse. Now that he was in the middle of an all-out war on New Island, he could definitely say that he found something worse.

In Ash's eyes and also in the eyes of most trainers in the Pokemon World, Pokemon battles are a test of strength, strategy and the bond between them and their Pokemon. In a few rare cases, accidents would happen, leaving a Pokemon or trainer severely injured. But at the end of the day, it's all just for fun and in the spirit of competition. Nobody was aiming to cause life-threatening harm anyone towards else, only fighting until they knock out the opposing Pokemon, something that they could easily recover from, given a day or two.

However, in front of the eyes of Ash Ketchum, a 10-year-old boy on a journey to become a Pokemon Master, a battle to the death was taking place. Pokemon and cloned variation of themselves were battling it out, suppressed of their elemental abilities, forcing them to fight to the death like savage beasts. Even his own Pokemon were fighting with their lives on the line. The Pokemon he not only called his partners but his friends.

Ash grimaced at the sight. His mind could only think about stopping this unnecessary conflict, if not for his sake, but for the sake of the world and every single innocent life form on the planet. His mind grew hazy at the sight that surrounded him, but he remained undeterred to find some way to stop the fruitless battle that was taking place.

As much as he hated to admit it, Ash was young, still only 10-years-old. However, he was full of potential for so much more in the future. But right now, he was only a boy. Still, he believed he could make a difference. Somehow, someway, he could create a miracle that would save everyone. Without a plan or even a second thought, his impulse took over his body. He stood up and did the first thing his 10-year-old brain could think of: run.

He didn't know where to run or what to do, but his eyes stopped at the two feline Pokemon fighting in the middle of the broken castle they were in. One resembled a floating pink cat, while the other was also cat-like, but purple and more human-like. They were the only ones unaffected by the suppression of attacks and were freely attacking each other with an unimaginable number of attacks that Ash could not recognize. Without a second thought, he switched directions and began running towards the two Legendary Pokemon as fast as he could.

Hiding behind cover, Brock and Nurse Joy saw Ash running towards the two Legendary Pokemon. Brock, realizing the danger of the situation, desperately cried out to his friend, "Ash, Wait! It's too dangerous!"

Brock and Misty, were already used to trouble. It was something they got used to after being chased by a trio of members from an elite crime syndicate for an entire year. They had already led everyone else on the island to safety, behind cover or outside of the castle walls. However, Brock and Misty feared the worst as they watched the only person left in the open, Ash, run straight for the two Psychic Legendaries in the middle of the battlefield.

Misty closed her eyes and looked away.

Brocks yelling fell on deaf ears.

Ash yelled as loud as he could, "You've got to stop right now!"

Sadly, he received no response from the battling Legendaries so he continued to run towards them.

As he ran across the battlefield, in the hazy flurry of attacks, he could barely make out his Pokemon. Memories of them flooded into his head as his life began to replay itself in slow motion in front of him. Suddenly, on his left, a yellow blur whizzed by his head, which he recognized as his starter Pokemon, Pikachu. He remembered how Pikachu despised him at first, and eventually through trial after trial, they became best friends. From battles against the Gym Leaders of Kanto to various capture attempts by Team Rocket, their history was short but fruitful. He whispered to himself as he ran past, "I'm sorry buddy."

Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a spinning shell headed for him. Adrenaline pumped into his body and he ducked, narrowly avoiding the shell. Without a second glance, he already knew who had nearly taken his head, Squirtle. Squirtle was one of the Pokemon he owned who came with him willingly, as not only did Ash save his life, but also turned him from criminal to hero in a matter of hours. Tears began to form in Ash's eyes. He could hear the screams of the Pokemon around him, he could feel the pain his Pokemon felt. All he wished for was a chance to protect his Pokemon, to shield them from harm's way. But he knew he had to do something for everyone, an action that would save everyone without the need for war, he had no time to focus on every individual Pokemon he owned.

Ash closed his eyes and continued to run in the direction where the Legendaries were fighting. A scream from behind him, made his eyes jolt back open. Hesitantly, he turned around for a moment. Behind him was his Bulbasaur, who was struggling to overpower his clone as they tackled each other without mercy. Ash gritted his teeth, remembering how Bulbasaur had mistrusted humans for a long time, but eventually softened up to Ash and became one of his best Pokemon. Bulbasaur was one of the most trusting and loyal friends he had, and Ash knew that he would fight to his death to protect him. Upon closer inspection, Ash noticed another one of his Pokemon fighting in the background. Near Bulbasaur was his Charizard, no doubt the most powerful of Ash's team. He remembered how he saved Charizard as a Charmander, who nearly died in the rain after being abandoned by his previous trainer. It may have evolved and become disobedient, but he was still close to Ash's heart, like the rest of his Pokemon.

The memories of his Pokemon, pushed Ash's tired body forwards, even as his muscles screamed at him to stop. Everything around him became a blur, the only thing that mattered to him was to stop this battle once and for all. Even his own life no longer became a concern.

With tears in his eyes and determination in his body, he jumped.

" **STOPPPPP!"**

Every head in the room turned to Ash as he jumped between the two Legendary Pokemon. Not noticing the boy, they launched their most powerful attacks at each other. To their surprise, Ash ended up between them and was struck by both attacks head-on. Upon impact, the blasts of energy exploded, knocking everyone in the room backwards, away from the middle of the room, stopping all of the fightings.

The explosion left a giant ball of energy, which began to dissipate. Though disorientated at first, Mew realized what had happened and looked at the energy ball with concern. Mewtwo just stared in confusion, slightly startled at the turn of events.

Soon, the ball of energy cleared up, revealing that Ash was on the ground, completely still. His body emitted an ominous, pink aura which slowly faded away. Mew cautiously floated towards Ash and looked at him, trying to find any signs of life. The waves of ominous aura that left Ash's still body left Mew feeling uneasy, sending shivers down her spine.

Mewtwo didn't move and instead stared at the limp body in front of him with a growing sense of pity. Telepathically, he said, "Fool… Trying to stop our battle."

Mew turned her head away from Ash and glared at Mewtwo while squeaking in Poke-language, "Hey! Shut it! You... uh... um... person killer!"

Everyone in the room ignored the bickering Legendaries. Their focus was on Ash, who was still unmoving. The only one who wasn't paralyzed by the situation was Pikachu, who immediately sprinted towards Ash. Everyone watched closely, including the two Legendary Pokemon.

Pikachu ran up to Ash's face and squeaked, "Pika Pi... Pikachu?" _(Ash… are you there?)_

He received no response from Ash. No grunt, no groan, not even a breath.

Suddenly, to everyone's surprise, Ash's limp body began to stiffen and turn to stone. Everyone watched as Ash, the immature and naive 10-year-old kid became nothing but a cold, stone statue. Misty and Brock gasped in horror at the sight. All of Ash's Pokemon looked away in sadness, even his disobedient Charizard.

Still, Pikachu began to shake Ash's body with all of its might. His instincts told him that there was no way Ash was alive, but he didn't care. Despite his efforts, Ash remained unresponsive. Undeterred the electric mouse churned up its inner electricity and fired a jolt of electricity towards Ash, in a desperate attempt to revive his best friend.

…

No response.

Pikachu tried again, this time increasing the voltage of its electric attack.

…

No response.

Tears began to form in Pikachu's eyes as he tried again, increasing the voltage even more.

…

No response.

He clenched his paws and let out the biggest Thunder he could at Ash.

…

No response.

Tired and distressed, Pikachu dropped down to the ground and panted in exhaustion. He stared at Ash's body in pain. He closed his eyes and hoped that somehow, his electricity would create a miracle. He hoped that somehow, it would bring back his trainer and best friend, back into the world. He moved one paw forwards and tried to lift himself back up, but the battle he was fighting before took its toll and he collapsed.

As Pikachu collapsed, a realization flooded through the minds of every trainer and Pokemon in the castle. Frozen from shock or tired from the battle, everyone came to an ominous and wordless conclusion.

Ash Ketchum was dead.

He died in a desperate attempt to stop everyone from killing each other. Trying to show that violence and war would not solve anything. He sacrificed himself to show every Pokemon and clone int he room that they didn't need to fight. In the heat of battle and survival, he was the first casualty.

Tears began to well up in Misty's eyes. "Please no…" she weakly said, falling to her knees as the tears left her eyes and fell to the ground.

Like dominoes, people and Pokemon began to cry as well. From Ash's best friends and closest Pokemon to the clones who had realized the damage they had caused. If they had continued, who else could have fallen? Who else would have inevitably lost their lives, and never be seen again? These questions battered the Pokemon in the room and filled their minds with sorrow.

The room was silent, only the sounds of tears hitting the ground were audible.

Amongst the grief, the two Psychic Legendaries went back into their heated argument.

Irritated, Mew yelled at Mewtwo telepathically, "What the flipping flipper do we do now Mewtwo! You murdalized a kid and everyone is bawling their eyes out! Seriously, do you have no shame?"

Mewtwo looked around the room and then yelled back at Mew, "First of all, you hit him just as hard as I did. Second of all, you are the original, so you should be the one doing something. Lastly, why did he even jump between us? What was the point of such an illogical action?"

Mew took a deep breath and then telepathically yelled at Mewtwo as loud as she could, "HE WAS TRYING TO STOP US FROM FIGHTING YOU CAT-FACED AIRHEAD! EVER HEARD OF A THING CALLED EMPATHY?"

Mew took a moment to gather her breathing and then continued her rant, "AND DO YOU THINK ARCEUS GAVE ME A "HOW TO REVIVE HUMANS" BOOK WHEN I WAS BORN BILLIONS OF YEARS AGO? THE ANSWER IS NO! I DON'T KNOW HOW TO REVIVE HIM, ALL I DO EVERYDAY IS AVOID BEING SPOTTED BY PEOPLE AND PLAY!"

In an agitated tone, Mewtwo replied, "You have been alive for billions of years! My creation was only recent, and all I know how to do is fight! What do you even think I can do? Can't you improvise or something?"

Mew glared at Mewtwo and then sighed, "And what exactly can I do? Spray him with psychic energy and hope it undoes the effect? Turn his cells back to normal and hope he won't explode into a fountain of red stuff? Try creating a new Ash with absolutely no experience in that field? Hit him with a giant sign saying stop being dead?"

Mewtwo facepalmed at Mew's childish suggestions and yelled, "I may not know much compared to you, but I do know this. You are literally the embodiment of Pokemon, a creature with god-like psychic powers and the ability to learn any move. You were literally the first Pokemon created by Arceus, and carry practically unlimited amounts of power, to the point that the only creatures with more god-like powers than you are the Creation Trio and Arceus himself. You could literally play with the entire world as your own jumbo-sized dollhouse if you actually trained your psychic powers! YOU ARE MEW! DO SOMETHING!"

Mew scoffed at Mewtwo and slowly floated towards Ash. Indeed she was taught how to give life a long time ago to those worthy of it. Arceus had taught her this lesson a long time ago, but she forgot roughly half of the steps due to the lessons being "boring" by her standards.

Closing her eyes, she began analyzing billions of years of her subconscious and unsorted memory, looking for any memories that would help the situation. A memory popped into her head, one from the only years she had spent with a human in her entire life. The word "aura" began repeating itself in her head and she now knew where to start. After a few seconds, she opened her eyes and floated towards Ash's petrified body. She hovered over it, attempting to locate his aura. She focused her senses and cringed, the aura of sadness and the emotions of grief were strong and genuine in the room. She focused harder and managed to focus her senses on Ash and Ash alone.

She felt around Ash's body and searched. When she opened her eyes, surprise lit up on her face. There was no aura present in his body. Confused, she focused again and searched for any other signs of life. She knew that aura couldn't just disappear that quickly. Even if a person was thrown and incinerated into a volcano, there would still be a trace of their aura for at least a few minutes. After a full search, she still couldn't locate an aura that resembled Ash's, the only aura she could detect was from the creatures around her.

Mew sighed, she was quickly running out of ideas and the aura of sadness around her gave her a headache. Out of ideas, Mew decided to go for broke and began sending her psychic powers into Ash to revert the process, using the powers of creation she was birthed with. It wasn't much of a plan, but she already ran out of those, so this was her last resort. However, to Mew's surprise, nothing happened again. Completely dumbfounded, she floated down onto Ash's body for closer inspection. When she made contact, it exploded.

Meanwhile, Mewtwo began to feel a powerful presence surrounding him. He looked around, but couldn't locate where it was coming from. Suddenly, he felt the presence grow in strength behind him. He swiftly turned around and noticed that a powerful yellow light was radiating from one of the doorways. It radiated an aura of comfort to Mewtwo and against his skeptical instincts, he slowly floated towards the doorway and entered. The comforting light quickly became blinding and he was forced to close his eyes.

When the blinding light began to die down, Mewtwo opened his eyes. He was greeted with the sight of a majestic, white and gold equine standing in front of him. In addition, he was no longer in the castle on New Island, but instead in a white palace that defied the laws of space and time. The equine stared down at him and said in a soft but stern voice, _"Hello. I am Arceus, the creator of the world, and we need to talk."_

Mewtwo stared at Arceus with mild interest. He replied, "Where am I? Are you truly the creator of the world?"

Arceus chuckled at Mewtwo's questions and softly said, _"Yes, I am the creator of this world. I was the first being that inhabited the void of this dimension, and with my power, I created the world with the vast knowledge given to me by_ _ **"The Beginning"**_ _. Your original counterpart may have been responsible for the majority of life in the world, but I created her for that. As for where you are, this is the Hall of Legends. The origin of the world of Legends, the counterpart to the Tree of Life, which is the origin of the world of mortals."_

Mewtwo absorbed this information, surprisingly naturally. He nodded in comprehension and asked, "For what purpose have you brought me here?"

Arceus replied, _"Well, you are an… interesting case. I'm sure you have heard of the term "God", in your short life. I have vast knowledge and power, that excels what anything else in this world can have. But I am no god, simply because I can be beaten by my own creations. Though my original creations cannot initially defeat me, as they evolve, they can surpass me. God is meant to be unsurpassable and cannot create anything that is stronger than itself, therefore I am no god. For this reason, I have chosen to never interact with the world I built, and let it progress naturally, to see how the world survives on its own. You are the exception to this rule. Something like you was never intended to happen, and that has broken the balance of the world since you are a new Legendary Pokemon. Your existence is affecting the world in ways that you wouldn't understand. So, I was forced to either eradicate you or induct you as an official Legendary Pokemon, separate from Mew, which would give you a place in the world. This would allow the world to regain balance on its own."_

Mewtwo closed his eyes, absorbing the information. It looked like he had two choices, be eradicated, or become something new. He opened his eyes and looked at Arceus.

"I… see. What must I do to be inducted as an official Legendary Pokemon?"

Arceus looked at Mewtwo and asked, _"What do you think of the young man who sacrificed himself today?"_

Mewtwo looked at Arceus straight in the eyes, "I… I don't know."

Arceus closed his eyes and his plates began to spin around him. He then said, _"Then, the first thing I must do is the most important. I must give you the knowledge of the world. I know of your recent actions, and the root of those actions stem from your lack of knowledge of how the world functions. This may take a while, but time has no meaning here, so by the time you return, not even a second will pass. Perhaps then you may understand the actions of that young man."_

Mewtwo stared at the spinning plates in curiosity, he then said, "So be it, show me the truth about this world."

Arceus's plates began to spin faster and visions began to enter Mewtwo's mind. For an unknown amount of time, Mewtwo watched each vision, accompanied by explanations from Arceus. Slowly, Mewtwo began to learn the error of how he perceived the world as eons of memory and history penetrated his mind. At the end of it all, he was released from the Hall of Legends, back to the situation at hand as a formal Legendary Pokemon.

Upon exiting the Hall of Legends, Mewtwo was greeted with the sight of a giant glowing ball. Mewtwo looked at the ball in confusion. He closed his eyes, using psychic detection to figure out what this ball was. Using the knowledge that he had received, he quickly realized that time was still unflowing, so the ball wasn't necessarily an object but was possibly an energy buildup of some sort, frozen in time. Upon approaching the giant ball of pink, he immediately recognized it as a psychic fireball, the kind made from an explosion caused by psychic attacks. Now that the glowing, pink ball was identified, Mewtwo decided that the best course of action was to fly as far away as possible, since there was a 99.9% chance this was caused by Mew, meaning it could be a big explosion. So he did.

When time resumed, so did the explosion and Mew was sent flying into one of the castle walls, knocking her unconscious and thankfully not obliterating the castle and its visitors into smithereens. However, while everyone else was confused and surprised, nobody could tell what condition Ash was in, as the residual smoke from the explosion clouded the vision of the many creatures in the castle.

It was at this moment, Mewtwo flew back in, already knowing what happened. Interested in Ash's condition, he began using his own psychic powers to blow out the smoke caused by the explosion. When the smoke did clear, everyone was greeted to a heartwarming sight. An unconscious, but no longer petrified Ash and an unconscious Pikachu right beside him.

"ASH!" Misty and Brock yelled as they ran towards the bodies. Remembering the first aid training that he learned from treating his many siblings, Brock took 2 of his fingers and placed them on Ash's neck, checking for Ash's pulse.

He felt a bump, pushing against his fingers and then quickly retracting. His face lit up, Ash had a heartbeat. "He… he... HE'S ALIVE!" Brock yelled at the top of his lungs.

A rush of relief went to everyone in the building and people and Pokemon began to calm down. All of Ash's Pokemon rushed over to him (except Charizard) and surrounded him, each with different reactions. Misty sat down and sighed, glad that the fiasco was finally over and that her friend wasn't dead.

It was then, that Mewtwo began to speak. Heads turned around in the room, gravitating their sight towards him. Some had scared expressions on their faces, others held vengeance and anger. But everyone listened.

"It seems that I have a lot to learn about humans, as it seems that my initial judgement was wrong. A boy that young sacrificed himself for the well being of others, which now leads me to believe that I may have miscalculated the selfishness of humans. Perhaps humanity has some good, and that justifies their survival. Perhaps power and originality is not everything… and instead what matters is what you have done with your life. Such questions would not be asked of a newborn, but in my case, I answered wrong and I apologize. As for you all, it is also for the best if none of you remember this event. As a creation of Team Rocket, there would be no good in letting you know about me, as you could be hunted down, or killed in their fruitless attempts at power. You will all be returned to the harbour safely but without memories of this event. Chances are, you will never see me and the clones again and if I were to guess, you may not ever see Mew again either. But we will cross that bridge if it ever gets built. Goodbye."

Before anyone could comment or reply to his statement, Mewtwo raised his right arm into the air and shot everyone with a jolt of his ambient psychic powers, covering their memories on the island, and sending them back to the harbour. The only ones he left on the island were Mew, the Pokemon clones and for some strange reason, Ash was still here.

Confused, Mewtwo got closer to Ash and attempted to remove the memory directly from his mind. He focused on entering Ash's preconscious with his power but was repelled from an unknown source. He tried again and again but to no avail. For some reason, it felt like there was an invisible barrier around Ash, and that psychic powers would act like a stone in a sifting machine, unable to get through. Mewtwo concluded that psychic power was incapable of solving the issue. So, instead, he tried his hand at aura instead. Unfortunately, he was an amateur at it, only learning of its existence from Arceus himself, so his results turned up empty.

It seemed he needed an expert, someone who had years of training and had equal powers to penetrate the mind and soul of a person. Someone who knew what aura was, how it worked and what to do with it. He racked his brain, but he only knew two Pokemon in the Kanto region, that was capable of this on a controllable scale. The first was obviously himself, but he lacked practice, as he was still considered a child in terms of age, and was under the control of Team Rocket for the majority of his life. The second was Mew, who was currently unconscious and probably had a concussion, emphasis on had, considering the regenerative properties of the Ancestor Pokemon.

It seemed like there was but one solution to the problem.

Mewtwo smirked. This was going to be great.

Standing back up, Mewtwo focused a minuscule amount of energy on some water, specifically the very cold particles of H2O that was in the nearby atmosphere. Because of the storm he made initially around the island, he managed to gather up a large ball of frigid water and he slowly pushed it over Mew's unconscious body. With one last smirk, he relaxed, which let the water go.

"EEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH~" Mew screamed as she suddenly woke up, drenched in water that was still in the middle of state change into solid, (in other words really REALLY cold) Quickly, she jumped out of the castle and into the ocean, out of surprise. Though the water from the ocean was cold, it felt lukewarm when she fell in due to her fur's temperature being marginally lower than the oceans. When she resurfaced from the water, she was greeted with the sight of Mewtwo hysterically laughing at her.

She puffed her cheeks up and made a pouty face. "What the flipping flopping Furrets did you do that for, you meanie!" she yelled, only making Mewtwo laugh even harder. Infuriated, she jumped out the water and used her psychic powers to shake all the water off of her body. She then proceeded to use Flamethrower.

After several minutes of mock fighting between the two Psychic Legendaries, Mewtwo finally got the pissy Mew off of his back and explained the reason why he woke her up. She was still really pissed off about the whole incident but decided to save her anger for later, as she now had to focus on confirming that Ash was not dead. She floated towards Ash's body, focused her aura and expelled it around her, concentrating on the feeling of human life, which she would have seen as a blue aura around her when she closed her eyes. To her surprise, she found Ash with a purple aura surrounding him, without a single trace of blue.

Unsure of Mew's progress, Mewtwo spoke up. "Is something amiss?" he asked the confused Mew.

Mew turned to look at Mewtwo, seeing his psychic, pink aura radiating from him, as it should. This confirmed it, she wasn't suddenly colorblind, but instead, something was definitely wrong with Ash. "Y-yeah, his aura isn't right. It's off-colour." she hastily replied.

Absorbing the information, Mewtwo frowned. "So in other words, he's alive, but with a caveat," Mewtwo said to himself. He began massaging his temples as he fell into deep thought.

Mew looked at Ash with a thoughtful look, trying to comprehend the situation. She racked her brain for memories of what just happened, but it was all a blur to her. "Uh, Mewtwo, what was the last thing I did before getting knocked out?" she asked.

Mewtwo stopped his brainstorming and replied, "If I recall correctly, you made contact with him and then exploded."

Mew took a look at Mewtwo and then at the crater she formed in the wall. She figured that Mewtwo wouldn't lie so she added the information into her head, trying to figure out what could have done the damage. Even with the new information, she still couldn't process any logical conclusion out of all of the evidence before them. She turned back towards Ash, watching him breathe in his unconsciousness. To her surprise, his finger started moving, just a small bit. She backed away from him from reflex, but turned around, just in time to see Ash wake up.

Ash stirred a little bit and then slowly opened his eyes. The first thing that came to his mind was that he was awake, and he instinctively looked around for his buddy, Pikachu. He saw Pikachu sleeping soundly on one of his shoulders. Now that he knew his friend was safe, he slowly looked around the room he was in. He had a little bit of trouble remembering, but he recognized the place as New Island. His eyes stopped at the two Legendary Pokemon that were staring back at him. Then, the memories hit his head like a brick.

He lifted his body and sat up, pulling Pikachu off of his shoulder and onto his lap. "Whoa, what's going on here?" he asked, looking around for clues to what happened. He couldn't see where his friends were, or anyone else was in fact. It was just him and Pikachu, with the Legendaries and the clones in the background.

"I sent everyone home and erased their memories after you jumped into our battle. Don't worry, you're friends are safe. In short, I have reconsidered my actions and chosen to give the world another chance." Mewtwo replied, easing Ash's worries.

Ash sighed in relief, if Mewtwo was telling the truth, Misty, Brock and all of his Pokemon would be at the harbour, safe and sound. But if that was the case, then why was he still here? If the incident was over, then he should have been transported home along with his friends. Seeing no other option he decided to inquire about it. "So… why am I still here?" Ash asked. Mewtwo looked at Mew, and Mew looked back. "Its… a long story," they said in unison.

Mew spoke up first. "Basically, you jumped between us, we killed you, somehow I brought you back to life, Mewtwo had an existential crisis, and now we're here!" she explained, leaving out all the meticulous details.

Mewtwo quickly followed up. "But the main reason I kept you here is that, for some reason, I can't erase your memory, nor transport you home. This is concerning as this could potentially mean that something went wrong with your revival. But, right now is that you seem to be alive and healthy, so we can deal with that later. For now, I need you to promise not to tell anyone about what happened. For your sake, and our sake."

"Alright, I promise, as long as you live in our world in peace," Ash said without thinking twice.

Mewtwo smiled, "Then we should probably get you home, I think there is a boat on the edge of the island, and Mew can disguise herself to drive it. Should be easier to get home without a massive storm looming over you."

Mew shot a look of annoyance at Mewtwo, "Why me?"

Mewtwo just smirked in response and teleported away.

"YOU GET BACK HERE YOU FREAKING- ugh…"

* * *

 **And our story begins! Please review and let me know about any issues with the fanfiction. I hope you keep reading and enjoy it.**

 **And thank you for being patient with me. I am aware this edit was released way after, the promised release date, but school kept me down for a bit. Sorry about that - v -;**

 **Anyways, the mass review is nowhere near stopping and once I'm done, you may discover a new part of this story, that wasn't focused on too hard before.**


	2. Chapter 2: Battle For The Badge

**Now we get back to the main story...**

* * *

(Chapter 2: Battle for the Badge) Revised 2018-03-05

After a year-long journey through the Kanto region, 11-year-old trainer, Ash Ketchum had obtained 7 Kanto badges. Now, it was almost time for his to get his final badge, allowing him entry into the Indigo League, the Pokemon league of the Kanto region.

"Everyone look up ahead everyone! It's Viridian city!" said a frantic, hyperactive Ash as he dashed towards the town ahead of him. His two friends attempted to follow him but were not nearly as fast.

"Ash wait up!" a clearly exhausted Brock and Misty yelled as they tried to no avail to get their friend to slow down.

"I'll see you two at the Viridian Gym!" Ash yelled back as he made a mad dash across the town.

Brock and Misty sweatdropped as he ran past a corner with dust trails behind him.

"I really wonder where he gets that energy from," Misty said as she stopped to catch her breath.

"He's probably just psyched for his gym battle. After all, this is the last one before he is granted entry to the Indigo League." Brock replied, also stopping to take a breather.

After, dashing through Viridian city, Misty and Brock managed to get themselves to the Viridian Gym, only to be welcomed by an unfriendly sight. On the ground in front of the gym was Ash's rival Gary, unconscious with Ash and Pikachu on top shaking him, attempting to wake him up.

Ash continued to shake him rival in attempts to wake him up "Gary wake up! What happened?". Slowly Gary began to regain consciousness. "Ash… what are you doing here?"

Brock and Misty quickly ran up to the two boys, asking, "What happened?".

"I found Gary unconscious in front of the gym as soon as I got here," Ash replied.

Gary began to fully regain consciousness. "I… I don't know what happened, I tried to challenge this gym but there was no leader inside when I entered. Then, suddenly a Rhydon appeared from nowhere and knocked me out… Wait! Where are my Pokeballs!?".

Brock looked at the gym and said, "Do you think they are still inside the gym?"

Misty grimaced, "Some gym… What kind of gym just knocks out challengers?!"

"That would be our gym. So prepare for trouble!"

Suddenly the gym doors opened up, revealing 2 adult figures and a small, feline Pokemon.

"No way, not you three again" Ash yelled in an annoyed tone.

"Who else did you think it was, so make it double." the male figure replied.

"To protect the world from devastation,"

"To unite all people within our nation,"

"To denounce the evils of truth and love,"

"To extend our reach to the stars above,"

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now or we will beat you in this fight!"

"Meowth that's right!"

While the trio said their motto, Gary noticed something. "Hey, those Pokeballs your holding are mine! Give them back!"

"Unfortunately, they are now the property of Team Rocket, just like the Viridian Gym," Jessie replied. "In fact, this is our newest promotion by the boss, Gym leaders of the Viridian Gym." James continued.

Misty then yelled at them, "That doesn't mean you can just steal challengers Pokemon!".

"Well too bad, we're not giving th-"

Suddenly, Ash cut in. "Pikachu use **Thunderbolt**!"

"Pi! PikaaaAAAA CHUUUU" Pikachu then sent a shockwave of electricity at the trio, zapping them and forcing them to drop the stolen Pokeballs. "Oh no! Our stolen prize!" James yelled as he recovered from the shock.

"Alright, Pikachu now give them a **Thund-** "

"Wait a second twerp!" Jessie yelled.

Confused, Ash asked, "What for?"

Brock realizing something, then asked "Team Rocket, is it true that you are the actual gym leaders right now?"

"Truest of the true, and if you blast us off, you won't get this!" Jessie said as she took out an Earth Badge.

Ash did not like this but had no choice. "Fine, then I challenge you to a gym battle. It's your duty as a gym leader to accept!"

James replied. "Alright twerp, but if you lose we're going to pilfer every Pokemon you have."

Misty turned towards Ash. "Ash, I think we should challenge another gym, you can't afford to lose here."

Ash turned to Misty and said. "Relax Misty, this is Team Rocket we're talking about."

"True, but be careful."

Everyone proceeded into the gym. Misty, Brock, Gary, James, and Meowth sat in the bleachers while Jessie walked up to the leader's podium. Ash stepped up to the challenger's podium. The battlefield was a standard sized arena, full of rocks on both sides.

"This will be a 3 on 3 battle twerp, no substitutions from either side," Jessie said as she readied a Pokeball.

"That's fine with me, and I won't lose" Ash replied grabbing a Pokeball of his own.

"Then let's get this battle started, as the leader of the Viridian City Gym, fall to the overwhelming power of our ground type Pokemon!" Jessie yelled.

 **(ASH VERSUS JESSIE)**

 **[3 v 3]**

 **(Just imagine the battle intros in the XY anime when this happens)**

"I'll go first twerp, go Nidoking!" Jessie said as she sent out the large, bipedal, purple Pokémon.

"Nido… NIDOKING!" It roared, as it got into a battle stance.

"Then I choose you, Squirtle!" Ash yelled as he threw his Pokeball, sending out the small blue turtle.

"Squirtle!" It cried, then it sweatdropped at the overwhelming size of the Nidoking.

"Alright Nidoking, **Horn Attack**!" Nidoking began running across the battlefield with its horn in front, glowing.

"Squirtle dodge it and use **Bubble**!" Squirtle jumped out of the way of Nidoking at the last second and then began firing bubbles out of its mouth.

"Pop those bubbles with **Poison Sting**!" Nidoking began to fire white needles out of its mouth, popping the bubbles.

Misty watched as Squirtle jumped out of the way of more poison stingers, and commented to Brock, "That Nidoking is surprisingly powerful."

Brock replied, "Yeah, Ash might be in trouble. This battle is not in his favor."

Gary jumped into the conversation, "Yeah but those attacks almost seem a bit too powerful…"

Brock looked back towards the battle, "Your right, those attacks are way too powerful to be sustainable."

Ash frowned. The battle was not going in his favor " _Wow! That Nidoking is a high level! How do I stop it?_ " Then the young boy saw something out of the corner of his eye. " _That's how!_ "

"Squirtle jump to the rock on the left!" Squirtle nodded back to its trainer, quickly jumping onto the rock.

Jessie frowned, "Let's finish this battle already Nidoking! Use **Horn Attack**!"

Ash smirked as the bipedal reptilian charged at Squirtle. "Now Squirtle! Use **Withdraw** and roll off the rock!" Squirtle quickly jumped into its shell and rolled off the rock. Nidoking could not stop itself at its current speed and rammed into the rock, jamming it's horn inside. "Oh no! Nidoking" Jessie cried. Ash took the opportunity. "Squirtle! Now hit him with a **Water Gun**!" Squirtle popped out of its shell, facing the now stuck Nidoking and blasted a high power dose of water at it. The water struck Nidoking hard, knocking it out of the rock.

"Grrr! Nidoking! Hit that pathetic Squirtle with a **Thunderbolt**!"

Nidoking obeyed, but due to Jessie's aggravation, it was mistimed. It launched a Thunderbolt, just as Squirtle jumped off the rock it was standing on, missing completely.

"Squirtle! **Skull Bash**!" Ash cried, and Squirtle tucked its head in, and rammed Nidoking, slamming it into a wall.

Nidoking popped out of the wall, surprising Squirtle. Jessie smirked, " **Thunderbolt** now!"

Nidoking launched a bolt of electricity at Squirtle, who spun out of the way despite the surprise.

Ash noticed this and thought, " _Nidoking must be getting tired! Its aim is off!_ "

Ash informed Squirtle, "Nidoking is tiring! Just keep dodging!"

Squirtle nodded and dodged another Thunderbolt. At this point, sweat beads began to appear on Nidokings body, and it was visibly panting.

"Nidoking **Fury Attack**!" Jessie yelled.

Nidoking slowly walked towards Squirtle, clearly exhausted.

Ash commanded, "Squirtle, stand your ground! **Water Gun**!"

Squirtle launched a continual stream of water at Nidoking. Nidoking flinched but then began to push through the water. Suddenly Nidoking lost its footing, due to fatigue and promptly got slammed into the wall from the constant stream of water, knocking it out.

"Oh no! How could Nidoking lose?" Jessie said as she returned Nidoking back into its Pokeball.

Misty and Brock cheered, Gary let in a small smile, "I knew it, unlike my Nidoking, those attacks were pure power, using up all of its energy quickly, I would know since my Nidoking doesn't waste all of its energy during the beginning of a battle."

Aggravated, Jessie sent out her next Pokemon. "Not bad twerp, but take this!" The ball flew in the air and opened sending out a bipedal brownish yellow colored Pokemon. Ash quickly checked his Pokedex.

 **-SANDSLASH THE MOUSE POKEMON. IT IS SKILLED AT SLASHING ENEMIES WITH ITS CLAWS. IF BROKEN THEY START TO GROW BACK IN A DAY-**

"Huh, another ground type. Squirtle are you ready?" Ash asked. But what he heard was weird. Instead of the normal "Squirtle Squirt" he usually heard, he seemed to faintly hear a voice along with the normal Pokespeech. It faintly sounded like "I'm ready". Ash dismissed the odd occurrence and prepared to battle again.

Ash took the initiative, "Squirtle use **Water Gun**!" Squirtle immediately shot out a blast of water at Sandslash.

Jessie countered, "Dodge it and use your **Slash** attack!" Sandslash suddenly moved out of the water's path and jumped towards Squirtle, slashing its claws.

"Squirtle!" the turtle cried as it was sent smashing to the gym's wall, ending up with swirls in its eyes. Ash frowned. "Rotten luck! A critical hit! How do I take on that kind speed and power?" He thought for a few seconds and then decided. "Alright, I got this! I choose you Pidgeotto!" Ash threw another Pokeball revealing the medium-sized bird Pokemon.

"Go Pidgeotto! Use **Gust**!" The bird began to flap its wings as fast as it could sending a blast of wind as Sandslash.

"Grrr… Use **Swift**!" Sandslash began to roll into a ball and spin in place sending stars in all directions.

"Pidgeotto dodge them". Pidgeotto began to dodge but the stars followed her and struck her tail feathers, knocking her out of the air ."Pidgeotto no!"

Suddenly, Misty yelled out to Ash. "Ash Swift can't miss!"

"Let's finish this Sandslash! Use **Fissure**!"

Sandslash smashed the ground around the field creating a giant fissure. Suddenly Pidgeotto leveled its wings and regained height right before it hit the ground. "Pidgeotto now use **Wing Attack**!"

"Sandslash **Scratch**!" The two Pokemon charged at each other with their attacks and crashed into each other, Pidgeotto taking most of the damage.

Ash thought, " _It's fast, and Pidgeotto can't outlast it, we need to find a way to get some damage in._ "

Ash looked around and noticed cracks forming on the ground. He thought of an idea.

" _It's risky but I have no choice, it's just too powerful_." He thought.

Suddenly he said, "Pidgeotto land on the ground!" Pidgeotto landed on the ground and faced Sandslash.

Everyone in the room except for Ash was confused, they knew that a flying type on the ground lost its advantage against ground types.

"Heh, wrong move twerp! **Fissure**!" Sandslash slammed the ground forming even more cracks that headed towards Pidgeotto, glowing.

Ash grimaced, the cracks were going forwards too fast, he then sent the command he had planned.

"Sorry, I misjudged… **Mirror Move**." Then, the floor caved in.

When the dust cleared, both Pokemon were knocked out, partially buried in the ground.

"Pidgeotto! Return!" Ash said as he returned the bird to its Pokeball.

"What!?" Jessie said as she returned her Pokemon back to its ball.

Ash looked down to the Pokeball and said, "I was planning for you to fly away after Mirror move, but it was too fast, sorry Pidgeotto." He then looked back at the field and readied his next Pokemon.

Jessie turned to Ash and said, "You might have beaten Sandslash and Nidoking, but I still have the bosses ace Pokemon!".

Ash smirked. "Whatever it is, I'll beat it and get my Earth Badge"

"We'll see about that twerp!"

* * *

 **Oh, look a cliffhanger…**

 **So yeah I changed the battle to be a bit… groundier and… more gym battley and whatever. Please tell me how I'm doing with this fanfic, as I still am not that good at English writing. Also, I'm following the logic that flying type properties don't apply on the ground.**

 **Edit: Extended Battle, made it reflect more on Jessie's temper and Ash's insane strategies.**


	3. Chapter 3: The Final Push

**So a bit of extra knowledge on this story, I will not be including the Alola region story, but Alola Pokemon will exist in this world.**

(Chapter 3: The Final Push) Revised 2018-03-19

* * *

Everyone waited with anticipation for Jessie to reveal her final Pokemon. Even James and Meowth had to admit it was an exciting match and that the outcome of the battle was unpredictable. With one Pokemon remaining for both sides, both trainers were determined to win, though for different reasons. Not only was a badge at stake, but also the fact that this would be a loss to the team Rocket trio, who would easily be able to take all of Ash, Misty and Brock's Pokemon. The only thing stopping the trio, was the official declaration of a gym battle, something, Giovanni specifically stated was sacred and had to be accepted fairly no matter what. If the trio attempted theft during a gym battle, Giovanni would easily lose the gym.

"Alright, let's crush that twerp! Go Rhydon!" Jessie said as she threw an ultra ball at the field, revealing the powerful rock and ground type Pokemon.

"Rhydon!"

Ash threw his Pokeball. "I'm counting on you! Bulbasaur!" Bulbasaur came out of its ball and jumped on the field, ready to battle.

"Bulbasaur Bulba!"

Ash wasted no time and issued a command.

"Bulbasaur use your **Vine Whip** attack!" Bulbasaur pulled out two vines from its bulb and launched them at Rhydon.

"Rhydon dodge it and use **Horn Attack**!" Immediately as Jessie said the command Rhydon sidestepped out of the way of the vines and charged at Bulbasaur with its horn despite the rough terrain. "Bulbasaur stop it with your **Razor Leaf** attack!" Bulbasaur then began to launch sharp leaves from its bulb at Rhydon, making it flinch briefly before it charged straight at Bulbasaur through the leaves knocking Bulbasaur into the air.

"SAUUURR!" Bulbasaur cried as it got thrown into the air in pain.

"Bulbasaur hang in there and use **Leech Seed**!" Ash commanded. Bulbasaur turned around in the air and launched a seed from its bulb on to Rhydon's horn, which grew a bunch of ivy around Rhydon's body, sapping away the Pokemon's energy.

However, for once, Jessie was one step ahead. "Use **Fire Blast** while it's still in the air!" Rhydon ignored the pain from the Leech Seed and erupted a giant star-shaped flame out of its mouth towards Bulbasaur. "Oh no! Bulbasaur!" Ash cried as the flames impacted Bulbasaur covering the battlefield with smoke.

Jessie smirked. "Well, twerp! This is the end! Prepare to forfeit all your Pokemon!"

Suddenly a blast of light blew out of the smoke and impacted Rhydon smashing it into the wall at the back of the gym. "What? But how?" Jessie cried. Then, Bulbasaur jumped out of the smoke, severely injured but still ready to battle. "Amazing Bulbasaur! That was **Solar Beam**!" Ash said. Suddenly, Bulbasaur flashed white and began changing. "Bulbasaur is evolving!" Ash said in glee. In the stands, Brock was also smiling. "This should even the odds, I've noticed Ash's Bulbasaur was ready to evolve at any time because of the bulb on it's back was abnormally large, but it didn't for some reason. It must have been waiting for it to learn Solar Beam before evolving!"

Gary shrugged. "Figures, Solar Beam is one of the strongest Grass-type moves and unevolved Pokemon learn them faster."

Suddenly, the light disappeared and Ivysaur came out, injured but ready to battle. Ash was staring in awe.

Misty cried out to Ash, "Ash, now's your chance!"

Jessie was getting angry, the battle was not going as planned. "Grrr! Whatever! Rhydon finish this! **Hyper Beam**!" Rhydon began charging an orange energy in its mouth. Ash gulped. "If that attack hits, it's all over! Bulb- I mean Ivysaur, let's finish this. **SOLAR BEAM**!" Ivysaur began charging its own attack. Since it charged up first, Rhydon launched it's Hyper Beam straight at Ivysaur, but Ivysaur jumped out of the way, exposing it's flower to the open roof better, leading it to launch its SolarBeam straight into Rhydon. Rhydon smashed into the wall again and ended up knocked out. "There no way!" Jessie cried.

Ash was ecstatic. He had finally won his 8th badge. Begrudgingly, Jessie threw the badge at Ash and stomped out of the field in a fury. Whether she liked it or not, Giovanni had given her the position of gym leader temporarily, meaning she had to give out badges if she ever had a loss, and all of the strong Pokemon Giovanni gave them, were now knocked out. The Team Rocket Trio was beaten yet again.

"Alright, Pikachu! This is badge number eight!" Ash yelled happily.

Pikachu jumped into its signature position and cried, "Pi Pikachu!"

Then, Gary spoke up. "Well Ashy-boy, guess I'll be seeing you at the Indigo league. Try not to lose until your up against me. Smell ya later."

He then proceeded to leave the gym.

Ash and the gang left the gym in a happy mood. Gary had left for Pallet town on his own, while Ash and his friends stayed at Viridian City for the night.

The next morning, everyone awoke and begun to do their normal morning routine. Pikachu shocked Ash awake, Brock cooked breakfast, Misty pulled Brock away from Nurse Joy by the ear and everyone got their Pokemon checked up. During that time frame, Ash realized he had no idea where and when the Indigo league was going to take place. After internally facepalming, he decided to ask Brock.

"Hey Brock, where's the Indigo league being held?" Ash asked.

Brock replied. "I don't know, but the professor probably does. Let's visit your hometown and find out."

So, the gang decided to head for Pallet town.

While walking on Route 1, Ash took a look around, admiring the view. He never did get the time to appreciate the route, as last time he was here, he was being chased by a very angry flock of Spearow in the middle of a very powerful thunderstorm. Honestly, that day was a really bad start to his Pokemon journey, he would have loved to have one of those battle-ready Spearow on his team, but he never got the chance to throw a Pokeball at one of them.

Suddenly Pikachu, who was sitting on Ash's shoulder, jumped off and got into a battle stance, cheeks sparking with electricity.

"Pika!" It sensed something aggressive around it, hiding in the forest.

"What's wrong Pikachu?" Ash asked. He got his answer immediately.

"FEARRROW!" Suddenly, a Fearow came out of the brush and charged at Ash, then changing direction to dodge a Thunderbolt from Pikachu.

"A Fearow! Why is it attacking us?" Ash said as the Fearow began flying towards Ash, with eyes set on the kill.

Pikachu got ready to defend its trainer with 100, no… a thousand Thunderbolts, but then, Pidgeotto jumped out of its Pokeball and landed in front of Ash. Fearow landed s few meters away from it. The two birds glared at each other. Then, Ash noticed something particular about this Fearow, its eyes were tinged slightly red, and it had many half-burnt feathers. "Wait a second, could that be the Spearow that attacked us on my first day as a trainer?"

Fearow cawed menacingly as if to confirm Ash's statement. It then proceeded to fly towards Ash, spinning like a drill. However, Pidgeotto struck it with a Quick Attack to its flank before it could impale Ash. The two birds began to strike each other in a deadly air battle, beak on beak, wing on wing, talon on talon.

"I don't understand. Why is Fearow this angry at me? That incident happened almost a year ago!" Ash said as he watched the birds battle in the sky. Misty suddenly spoke up. "Wait Ash! Last time you were attacked, weren't you attacked by a whole flock of Spearow?" Ash replied. "Yeah, and this one was their leader, I think." Misty then said, "Then maybe the Spearow abandoned Fearow as their leader after that event, meaning Fearow had lost its entire flock, leading it to build a grudge against you."

Fearow heard what Misty said and cringed, it was true and it hurt.

Confused, Ash replied, "But why would that event cause it to lose its leadership?"

Misty thought for a bit and said, "Maybe because all those Spearow ended up electrocuted by Pikachu, and since Fearow was the one who told them to attack you, they left him as they thought his leadership made them get electrocuted."

Brock then yelled, "Well whatever the reason, it's beating Pidgeotto!"

As the gang looked up, Pidgeotto fell out of the sky. It had lost the battle against Fearow. Fearow then looked at Ash, in a blind rage. Pikachu began to spark it's cheeks and prepare to attack. "Pikachu wait! Let me handle this." Ash said. Confused, Pikachu stepped back and watched. Fearow flew down to ground level to strike Ash, ready to impale him with its beak. That boy had taken its flock away from it, leading him to live a lonely life for a year. Fearow began to speed up to Ash. Misty and Brock began to cry out. "Ash what are you doing? Get out of there!"

Fearow was getting closer, ready to impale Ash. Seeing this, Ash decided to speak up. "Fearow, I'm sorry." Fearow was slightly surprised at those words but didn't slow down. "You're lonely now, and it's because of me. If I didn't throw that blanket on you that day, this would have never happened." Ash spoke. Fearow was still angry but had begun slowing down. It landed in front of Ash glaring. It had a few tears in its eyes, but they were still full of anger as well.

Then Ash said something else it didn't expect. "It looks like you have been lonely for a long time, but I want to repair this. I want to help you. I don't know if your old flock will accept you as their leader, but I know me and my Pokemon would accept you as a friend. I want to give you a chance, to no longer be lonely, to be my Pokemon. I always wanted a Fearow since that first day, but I never got the chance to throw a Pokeball at you." Fearow couldn't believe it, it hated that boy for what it did, but it also didn't want to live alone anymore, it acted tough, but always wanted to have others it could depend on, it hated being alone. The more it thought about the offer, the more appealing it became to it. It remembered the reason it attacked Ash in the first place. It was always jealous of human-trained Pokemon, due to how much love and attention they got, he wanted it too, but it never wanted to show that weakness to anyone. It tried to get the boy's attention on that fateful day and got a blanket in the face, which pissed it off.

Now it had a decision to make, kill the boy, or join him. One path would satisfy his vengeance, but also leave him lonely for the rest of his life, while the other would go against his pride and instinct, but give him others to depend on and possibly get the same attention it wanted as a Spearow. Of course, he could always leave, but since when did that ever solve anything?

…

Fearow took another good look at the group, and now that it had calmed down, it realized one other factor. It was outnumbered… by a lot.

By then, Misty and Brock already had their hands on their Pokeballs, just in case, while Pikachu was ready to zap it with a million thunderbolts if it made any harmful movements towards Ash. In addition, Pidgeotto had just woken up and was ready to strike at any time.

It made a decision.

It lunged straight for Ash.

"ASH!"

"NOO!"

"PIKA!"

…

"It's alright, I understand Fearow, it's a lot to take in."

What had looked like a lunge, was actually a glomp followed by many many tears. Fearow had its head in Ash's chest, crying out all the tears it held from it's lonely life. Ash just stood there, consoling Fearow, he knew that this had a huge impact, and vowed despite their not so friendly beginning, to take care of Fearow and give it a new and bright future.

Ash then said, "Alright Fearow, time to go back to your new home, I'll catch you there, so we can hang out now.

Fearow cooed in agreement, "Fearow!"

Ash began to walk to Pallet town with Fearow, while the rest of the gang stood there staring.

Misty was the first to snap out of their trance, "H-he actually did it."

Brock snapped out as well, "Well, I guess that's just Ash for you, making friends with Pokemon is his strong suit."

Pikachu and Pidgeotto agreed.

They quickly followed Ash and Fearow all the way to a hilltop and gasped at the sight in front of them. Ash smiled. "Alright Pallet Town, future Pokemon Master Ash Ketchum is back!". He dashed across the field, releasing all his Pokemon (besides Charizard) to run beside him. Pikachu, Pidgeotto, Ivysaur, Squirtle and even Fearow flew or ran beside him as he ran home. A few townsfolk were a bit surprised, but after seeing who it was, giggled and went on with their day.

Misty and Brock ran behind him as they made their way across Pallet Town ending up at a small house around the edge of the forest. This was Ash's house.

Ash then yelled 'Mom I'm home!"

Delia burst out of the house, with an unusual pink Pokemon beside her to greet him. "Oh, Ash you're finally home! Did you eat well? Did you sleep well? Did you get into trouble? Have you caught any new friends? Have you changed you-"

Ash cut her off, "Mom, I'm fine, but who's that Pokemon?"

Delia then introduced them to her Pokemon, "Oh that's my Mr. Mime, surprisingly your father sent it to me after he heard you were on a journey a few months ago, I nicknamed him Mimey!"

"Mr. Mime…" Mimey said happily.

Ash was shocked, partially about the Pokemon but also about the fact that his mother mentioned about a father, especially considering that his birth father was dead. He quickly pulled out his Pokedex and scanned Mimey.

 **-MR. MIME THE BARRIER POKEMON, ALWAYS PRACTICES ITS PANTOMIME ACT. IT MAKES ENEMIES BELIEVE SOMETHING EXISTS THAT REALLY DOESN'T. -**

Ash remembered that his friends were present and introduced them, and mentally reminded himself to talk to his

mother later in private about his father.

Delia, after talking to his friends for a bit, turned to Ash and said, "By the way Ash, your father also sent this to you."

She took a Pokeball out of her pocket and gave it to Ash. "He said it's a Pokemon that knew you."

Ash took the Pokeball and threw it.

"Haunter Haunt!"

"No way!"

* * *

 **And that's all for now. I actually edited this part before uploading it to Fanfiction, so hopefully it sounds better. One particular problem with a ton of Pokemon fanfics that I find is the overwhelming lack of presence of characters. Despite being so important, I've seen Ash fanfics with Pikachu appearing literally every 5 chapters. This becomes even bigger of a problem when even more Pokemon are put into the fic. Especially if nicknamed, I find it hard to follow those due to the overwhelming amount of Pokemon that are used, which is not only difficult to follow, but makes reduces the storytelling to only the humans and a few main pokemon, as the rest only make appearances once in a while and sometimes even never. This is why I plan to not actually have Ash catch a ton of Pokemon. More than the anime, but not too many, so it's easier to follow the story. I want to be able to develop actual character development in each Pokemon, just like the anime does, instead of make a magnitude of Pokemon with no personality or a personality only used once or twice. I want important characters like Pikachu to be noticed regularly as well. So hopefully I'll accomplish that. I'll get writing the next chapter soon, and Ash will train WELL, not HARD. So yeah. Also please post reviews, Im interested in knowing what you think about the story.**


	4. Chapter 4: Homecoming

**And, another chapter is released, and If you haven't seen my other new story, "Above Death Itself", then I recommend you read it. While I focus on story elements in this fanfic, I spend more effort in descriptive language and written tone in the other story. It is rated mature, but it's only because of death.**

(Chapter 4: Homecoming)

* * *

Pallet town. A quaint, little village located in the Western part of Kanto. Pallet Town is a beautiful and peaceful place, with lush grassy hills, fresh and calming. The long patches of plains away in the light breeze, loose forests create play areas for kids and nice beaches litter the southern end of the town. Well known for its spacious environment and peaceful attitude, as well as Professor Oak's laboratory, many Pokemon seek refuge here, as it is a breath of fresh, fragrant air for them, which takes away their worries and their stress.

Ash with Pikachu on his shoulder, ran towards the laboratory at full speed, not waiting for a second to go and see his Pokemon and to find out where and when the Indigo league is taking place. His companions Brock and Misty ran behind him, tolerant of his hyperactiveness, knowing that this was his hometown and he had every right to be excited, as entering a regional Pokemon league is no easy feat. Also, there was the fact that this was his first league ever.

Ash and Pikachu looked at the building in front of him, recognizing the windmill straight ahead of him as the laboratory he started his journey in, "Guys! That's Professor Oak's laboratory!"

He quickly ran up the stairs and knocked on the door. A familiar voice said, "The door is open, come on in!"

Ash and the others entered the building, Brock and Misty were awe-struck as they were inside the infamous Professor Oak's lab. Ash walked into the lounge, where Professor Oak and Ash's rival, Gary Oak, were sitting.

Gary was the first to speak up, "Looks like you made it Ashie-boy, thought late as always."

Ash, slightly annoyed, retorted, "At least I made sure not to get mugged, on the way here, Gary."

This led to an interestingly, loud argument between Gary and Ash, in which Professor Oak had to stop them. He sighed, "Why can't Pallet Town's two top trainers get along?"

Both of them looked at him with confusion, they knew that 4 trainers had traveled on their Pokemon journeys from Pallet Town, but according to Professor Oak, only the two of them made it back successfully.

Oak continued, "You two are the only trainers in Pallet to obtain 8+ badges, therefore both of you can attend the Indigo League, which will be held at the Indigo Plateau in two months. You should give yourselves a pat on the back for that."

Gary, arrogant as ever commented, "Whatever, it will be a piece of cake, I'm going outside to train, see ya later Ashie-boy."

Ash was about to comment, until his Krabby came along with a pot of tea in it's claws on top of bamboo coaster, which reminded him of something. "Hey, I should get all my Pokemon together, I still haven't introduced Fearow to the others!"

Pikachu sighed. How could his trainer forget?

Everyone went outside and Ash released all of his Pokemon… even Charizard. All of Ash's other Pokemon at the ranch also came towards him, Muk smothering him in the process, and Tauros almost running him over. Ash looked at all of his Pokemon in confidence.

Pikachu, Squirtle, Ivysaur, Charizard, Muk, Tauros (x30), Krabby… wait where were Pidgeotto and Fearow? Ash turned around and sweatdropped along with the rest of his Pokemon. Pidgeotto and Fearow were glaring at each other fiercely, ready to rip each other into shreds at any moment. Ash walked over to the two rival birds, "Maybe we should separate you two for now, we got some training to do! Is everyone ready?"

Everyone but Charizard shouted in confidence.

Ash sweatdropped, "Charizard… what am I going to do with you. Whatever, let's train!"

 **-TRAINING MONTAGE MUSIC MODE ACTIVATED-**

Everyone, even Charizard did a double take at the Pokedex.

 **-WHAT?-**

(Later...)

It was a week after Ash and Gary had arrived at Pallet, Misty and Brock watched them as they trained day after day, usually on the hills. They had planned a lot, but Gary seemed to have marginally better results, with Ash always a bit behind. While Gary was out training his Pokemon most of the time, Ash spent a lot of time reading strategy guides, while his Pokemon trained amongst each other. Suddenly, Gary's Nidoking misfired a Poison Sting at Ash, hitting the book he was reading at the top of the books cover. Ash looked up from the book and stared at Gary with a hint of annoyance. Gary stared back with a serious look. Everyone watched as the tension rose between the two trainers.

Suddenly, Gary's Eevee jumped out of a random bush and began to playfully chase its tail. Everyone did an anime fall.

Then, Pikachu joined in with Eevee's little game. Then, Eevee tripped and Pikachu slammed into her, and the two Pokemon rolled down the hill as a blurry brown-yellow fur ball.

Everyone sweatdropped.

Misty commented, "At least they get along…"

Suddenly, a loud crash was heard, followed by several screams.

Ash, Misty, Brock and Gary turned to see a white van driving into the ranch.

Ash asked, "What's going on?"

"Prepare for trouble"

"And make that double"

Ash, Misty and Brock interjected , "We've heard the motto a thousand times, just get on with it!"

Cassidy and Banana- I mean Butch came out of the van a bit peeved, but smirked at the kids. "We are here to steal the Ranch's Pokemon, now hand them over!"

Ash and Gary were the first to respond, "No way, get lost!"

Misty and Brock got into a battle stance, both brandishing their Pokeballs, ready to throw, Ash and Gary pulled out Pokeballs of their own.

Cassidy replied, "Then we do it by force. Biff get out the bosses Pokemon and let's get rid of these twerps!"

Biff, I mean Butch aggravatedly replied, "ITS BUTCH, and alright! Go Primeape and Golbat!"

Ash and Gary looked at the Pokemon and then at each other, they were rivals, but they also were friends, and right now was not the time to act like rivals.

"Gary, let's get rid of these Rockets."

"Alright Ashie-boy, this will be a piece of cake!"

Ash turned around and looked at Brock and Misty, "Find Pikachu and Eevee and get to the lab, there might be other's around trying to steal Pokemon, you have to stop them and call Officer Jenny, we will take care of Cassidy and Bart!"

Bush, I mean Butch said, "IT'S BUTCH! ATTACK!"

Misty, Brock quickly left, while Ash and Gary stood their ground.

 **(ASH & GARY VERSUS CASSIDY AND CUTCH, I MEAN BUTCH) **

**[2 v 2]**

Ash and Gary sent out their Pokemon.

"Ivysaur, I choose you!"

"Wartortle, lets beat them down!"

The duo of evolved starter Pokemon came out onto the field, ready for battle.

Cassidy went first, "Golbat, hit those wimps with a **Supersonic**!"

Byrth, I mean Butch followed, "Primeape use your **Thrash** attack!"

Golbat blasted out a Supersonic wave while Primeape ran towards the two starter Pokemon ready to stamp them into mush. Ivysaur quickly jumped away from the angry monkey, and Wartortle slid out of the way as well.

"Wartortle, **Hydro Pump** that Golbat!"

"Ivysaur, use **Sleep Powder** on Primeape!"

Wartortle retracted into its shell and began to spin and spray water everywhere, hitting Golbat out of the sky, while Ivysaur used the water to launch a Sleep Powder in it, raining it onto Primeape, forcing it to fall asleep.

"Now Ivysaur, Charge up a **Solar Beam**!"

"Wartortle! Cover Ivysaur, **Skull Bash**!"

Ivysaur began to charge up light in it's flower, while Wartortle jumped in front, Skull bashing Golbat.

"Quick Primeape! Wake up!"

"Golbat, **Wing Attack**!"

Golbat's wings glowed and it dodged another Skull Bash, hitting Ivysaur into the air, and then it started to hit the airborne Ivysaur multiple times. Ivysaur stopped charging Solar Beam in surprise. It actually hurt him a lot! But it couldn't fail it's trainer now, even if that Wing Attack was stronger than normal, he could not go down now.

Meanwhile, Primeape woke up and charged at Wartortle, the Turtle Pokemon didn't know what hit him as he was slammed into the ground on his back with a Low Kick. Unable to get up, it got pelted with Fury Swipes. If only it could fire water from somewhere else...

"Oh no! Wartortle!"

"Ivysaur stay strong!"

Ash and Gary were slowly being backed into a corner, both of their Pokemon being put in an undesirable situation. Briff, I mean Butch and Cassidy were winning.

Cassidy prematurely gloated, "This is it twerps, you can't beat us!"

Bryan, I mean Butch smirked, "We got some of the best Pokemon our boss could get his hands on, those puny attacks at the start didn't do a thing!"

Just as Bratt, I mean Butch said that, Ivysaur and Wartortle glared at their foes, they had to win for their trainers! Then, they began to both glow a bright white.

Ivysaur became a lot bigger and his flower fully bloomed, creating a mini tree on it's back, while Wartortle also got bigger, lost it's cool tail and ears and had two large cannons appear on it's shoulders.

Ash and Gary were amazed, pulling out their Pokedexes to scan the newly evolved Pokemon.

Cassidy and Zutch, I mean Butch, immediately lost their smirks.

 **-VENUSAUR, THE SEED POKEMON, THE FLOWER ON ITS BACK CATCHES THE SUN'S RAYS. THE SUNLIGHT IS THEN ABSORBED AND USED FOR ENERGY-**

 **-BLASTOISE, THE SHELLFISH POKEMON, ONCE IT TAKES AIM AT ITS ENEMY, IT BLASTS OUR WATER WITH EVEN MORE FORCE THAN A FIRE HOSE-**

Ash then spoke up, "Hey Gary, wanna teach these losers a lesson,"

Gary looked up from his Pokedex and looked at Ash, "Sure, let's show them our Pokemon's new moves!"

Cassidy and Bull, I mean Butch tensed up, they were confident in the Pokemon their boss got, but then again…

" **SLUDGE BOMB**!"

" **BLIZZARD**!"

Venusaur opened fire on the two enemy Pokemon, slamming them with sludge, while, Blastoise shot out a blast of snow and ice, covering the Primeape and Golbat, knocking them out.

Cassidy and Hutch, I mean Butch were shocked, they couldn't believe that these kids beat them, they returned their Pokemon and began to turn around… to see a bunch of police officers behind them with Misty and Brock.

Ash and Gary smirked, "Checkmate".

Cassidy and James, I mean Butch began to break into a sprint when suddenly they were struck by a powerful Thunderbolt.

"Pi Pikachu Pika!"

Ash smiled, that was Pikachu, thought he sworn he heard "Take that you bozos", but it was probably just his imagination.

* * *

 **And there we go, Ash and Gary kicks Cassidy and… you know what forget it. Looks like it's all training from now on. While I know Ash's Bulbasaur didn't want to evolve, I needed it to so Ash would have enough powerful Pokemon for the league, as I'm treating all the trainers there as people who actually got 8 badges, not people who just took a random test or went to some shitty school.**


	5. Chapter 5: Rivalry Flares

**Even though it's training, Ash kind of needs it. Sadly the other things he did during this time period in the anime are not happening. Also there is an important change to the ending of chapter 3, so re-read that chapter if you wish to not be confused.**

(Chapter 5: Rivalry Flares)

* * *

The police had arrested Cassidy and Barney, I mean Butch. Soon, life in Pallet Town returned to the norm, at least it tried to.

After that day, the rivalry between Ash and Gary had lengthened to very loud levels. The normally peaceful town of Pallet Town wad now full of noise, especially near Oaks lab. Thankfully, it was limited to daytime so nobody complained.

Ash quickly got himself together and trained his Pokemon hard, after seeing Gary get ahead of him, he and his Pokemon steeled themselves to training.

The normally kind and goofy trainer became temporarily strict and unforgiving. His Pokemon didn't mind much, as Ash returned to his normal self after the training. Charizard was the only one who didn't believe in their trainers methods.

Each day, Brock and Misty helped and supported him, watching the boy get stronger.

Venusaur had improved a lot, with the help of learning Sunny Day and Synthesis. He and Ash trained to calm themselves together in the sun during noon, and eventually Venusaur learned Synthesis and that quickly led him to learn Sunny Day through his normal training. His aim improved as well, the training proving itself on multiple occasions, as he broke up many fights at the ranch with carefully aimed attacks and soothing words. He also had Muk help him with sludge bomb, as the hunk was a natural at it… for obvious reasons. After a few days, he was also able to supplement his new size's lack of speed with increased bulk, with training to withstand damage instead of dodging it.

Squirtle was also pumped up and ready to train. Over the many days of training, he began to develop more and more endurance from swimming and running. He spent time perfecting his moves with target practice, and with the help of Tauros, he practiced how to aim at moving targets with more accuracy. With Ash's directions, Squirtle spent time dodging in its shell with Rapid Spin as he was blind while using the move due to being inside his shell. This quickly led to him learning Hydro Pump.

Ash asked Misty to help him train Krabby, as unlike Squirtle, it had very little training and had trouble swimming, usually just walking across the seabed. Misty was grateful that Ash actually asked her and got straight to work on training Krabby. She began with Krabby's water fighting capabilities at the beach in Pallet Town, teaching it how water can control a battle and how to ride or resist waves and currents. She also spent time teaching it attacks to control the water and gave it training on how to battle underwater. Ash trained Krabby on the land, spending time strengthening its power and endurance. He also realized he could use Krabbys powerful pincers to combat most grass type attacks, so he had grass types use vine whip and razor leaf for him to cut in battle. After many hours of training, Krabby could easily slice depart grass type attacks aimed for him.

Haunter didn't want to train as much as the others did, but Ash found a way to train him. He designated certain times of the day as times that Haunter could scare and prank any of Ash's Pokemon (except Charizard), not telling his other Pokemon, besides that it wasn't during the nighttime. Quickly, his other Pokemon developed enhanced alertness and attentiveness while Haunter developed his abilities as a ghost type better. Ash also somehow managed to explain the rules of the Indigo league to Haunter and they agreed that it would behave during the tournament, as neither wanted to be disqualified.

Ash and his Pokemon would race with his Tauros in the morning everyday, and after some discussion, one of the Tauros, the leader, was designated as the battler, while the rest just lived on the ranch in peace. Tauros trained in the fields, smashing rocks with its horns and sparring with the other Tauros.

Ash began to train Muk in a different way. Unlike his other Pokemon, Muk trained daily to take hits and hit back harder. He was showered with attacks in moderation and practiced handling it with its impressive bulk. It also began training in attacking with its arms, rather than just using sludge. Eventually, with the help of Pikachu, it learned Thunder Punch, which developed into the ability to use the other 2 elemental punches.

Out of everyone, Pikachu trained the hardest. He and Ash did everything together, strengthening their bond as they trained together, ate together and taught together. The more inseparable they became, the stronger they got. Pikachu trained mainly in the movement of his electric attacks, first trying to turn a Thundershock attack via electric control, then eventually being able to control Thunder. This also led to Pikachu learning Thunder Wave. During morning runs, Pikachu would speed ahead of the group with superior speed, making Quick Attack and Agility stronger and after accidentally smashing into a rock, he broke it revealing that he had learned Double-Edge.

Charizard mainly lazed around and didn't listen to Ash at all, he would however challenge any strong opponent he could battle against in the ranch, leading to powerful fights that Squirtle and Venusaur would have to clean up. At least he was training…

Pidgeotto and Fearow were never together, but their training was very similar. Both trained with Ash for aerial maneuvers to take advantage of their flight. Pidgeotto focused on sheer speed and her training blasted her across the ranch with power. Fearow focused on trickier spins with Ash so they could bond. Ash quickly helped Fearow learn Drill Run and Drill Peck, giving it better abilities in flight and a niche against rock type Pokemon.

…

It was 3 days before the Pokemon league. Ash walked back into his house, Pikachu on his shoulder and Haunter floating behind him. He walked into the house and saw a unfamiliar figure talking to his mother. The figure suddenly snapped his fingers, and he teleported away. Ash was initially concerned, but after looking at his mother's happy face, he realized that must have been the father she was talking about. Now was the time to talk about that.

Ash walked into the kitchen and said, "Mom, who was that just now?"

Delia turned around to see Ash and replied with, "Oh, you saw him? That's your new father."

Ash asked, "What just happened? He just snapped his fingers and left."

Delia responded, "Ah, he comes from Saffron City."

Ash sighed and dropped the big question, "Is he like Red? Will he leave us too?"

Ash never liked his father that much. The few memories that he had about him were happy, but there were too few. It was worse when 3 years before, he died on Mount Silver. Nobody saw what happened, all they found was a frozen body.

Delia knew that Ash would ask this, kids tend to like having 2 live parents. "He's training to become a part of the Elite 4, but since he trains Psychic Pokemon and can teleport to well known places, he will be around quite often. I know you rarely ever saw Red dear, but your new father will be around more.

Ash sighed, "Hopefully he is, it would be nice to have a father again."

The room fell silent.

Delia piped up, "Anyways dinner is ready!"

Ash and his Pokemon are their dinner in peace, sometimes his Pokemon would talk amongst each other.

After dinner, Ash asked his mom another question. "Is he going to watch me at the Indigo Plateau?"

Delia smiled, "We both will, so make us proud Ashie."

Ash smiled, "Thanks mom, I'm leaving tomorrow to go to Victory Road."

Delia replied, "Alright honey, I thought you would be leaving so I packed your bag with everything you need. Now have a good trip and don't forget to change your you know wha-"

"Okay mom I get it, now can I go get some sleep now?" Ash said as he climbed the stairs to his room.

Delia watched son leave the room and thought to herself, " _My little boy… all grown up_ "

(Meanwhile...)

Jessie, James and Meowth shook as they walked towards their bosses office. They had no idea why he called them. All they knew was that they were in trouble.

They walked into the room. It was a small office at the main Team Rocket Base, guarded by several grunts and Giovanni's precious Persian.

Giovanni noticed their entrance looked at the trio calmly and he told them, "Sit down you three, we have some things to discuss… one of those being an explanation of how the authorities know the Viridian City Gym is run by Team Rocket."

The trio gulped.

Jessie took initiative and spoke up, "Uh… Well we might have attempted to steal a challengers Pokemon…"

James nodded, "Yeah, and uh he got help from some others…"

Giovanni sighed, "Well, thanks to you three, we lost one of the most important assets Team Rocket owns."

The trio gulped again.

Giovanni continued, "I've decided to give you one more chance to redeem yourselves. I will have no mercy, if you fail."

Meowth shakily asked, "What do you want us to do boss?"

"You and some other grunts…

…

Will invade the Indigo league and steal every powerful Pokemon there."

The trio looked at Giovanni as if he was insane, but quickly regained composure and saluted.

"Yes sir!"

Giovanni frowned, "You better not fail."

Jessie, James and Meowth left the room sweating.

Jessie was the first to speak up, "How are we going to be able to take all the league Pokemon? It's impossible!"

James sadly replied, "Yeah, It's the end for us.

Meowth replied to the two Rockets with a Fury Swipes Attack.

"What the hell Meowth?"

"Ow.. my face…"

Meowth yelled at the Rockets, "If this is our last stand, then we need a plan and more Pokemon. We have no choice from this, we can't run from this, so we take this to our end."

The others agreed.

"We are dangerous members of Team Rocket,we will succeed"

"I know where to get a few new Pokemon…"

Meowth nodded, "I already have a plan cooked up."

The three Rockets left in search for what they needed.

That night, James somehow managed to sneak into his childhood manors doghouse to retrieve his pet Growlithe, Growlie. When he entered, he quickly grabbed Growlie's Pokeball and after finding and apologizing to Growlie, returned him and turned to leave until he saw another Pokeball on the expensive tabletop. The Pokeball was wrapped up with a very large red bow. Shrugging, James picked up the Pokeball and opened it.

A Vulpix emerged from the Pokeball. One look at James and it glomped him. Then Growlie came out of his ball and accidentally knocked James down. The two fire types began to play around each other.

James sighed, "Well, that could have gone better…"

He returned the two fire types and left the manor. While walking back to a rendezvous point that the three Rockets had set up, James noticed something lurking in the ocean beside him. The beach he was walking on was eerily quiet, usually during the night, there would be Krabby everywhere. But something was amiss.

James turned to look at the sea when a giant wave formed. He shrieked and ran for his life until he saw what caused the wave. A Gyarados. One that was heading for him right now. James watched as it slowed to look at him.

Then the wave hit James. Suddenly instead of eating James, Gyarados grabbed James out of the water and let James ride him.

James came to a realization and pulled out a golden Pokeball from his pocket.

With a smile he said, "I'm sorry about last time, but you heard that last bit and remembered, that's what matters. Gyarados return!"

As Gyarados entered the ball, James remembered the last time he saw Gyarados, it was aboard the raft he was on, after the St. Anne incident.

 **(Flashback)**

" _Jessie, this Magikarp kinda saved us, I mean it did bring us up to the surface didn't it?"_

" _NONSENSE, THAT FISH IS UTTERLY USELESS"_

 _(Jessie kicks Magikarp into the water)_

" _MAGIKARP NOOO!"_

 _(A white light appears)_

" _GYARADOS!"_

" _What? But how?"_

" _Hello, I am James, I am your trainer!"_

 _(Gyarados looks at James, but then leers at Jessie)_

 _(It launches a Dragon Rage in fury)_

 _(Everyone gets blasted off)_

 **(Flashback end)**

 **(Yes, this event has been changed. James is quite kind to his Pokemon in later seasons, so I believe that this would have been a more logical outcome.)**

* * *

Jessie had spent a lot of her time training Arbok and Lickitung. She also had to scout out the Indigo Plateau for the plan to take action. Donning a tourist disguise she traveled to the Indigo Plateau.

While scouting the Indigo Plateau, a man in a red suit came up to her. Not wanting to look suspicious, she acted out her role.

The man greeted her, "Hello ma'am, are you here to visit the Indigo Plateau as well?"

Jessie, not wanting to be rude, replied, "Uh… Yeah, what about you?"

The man replied, "Actually I came here to scout a location for the Kanto Grand Festival. Ah, I've never introduced myself, my name is Mr. Contesta. I run contests in the Hoenn and Sinnoh region and we're thinking about introducing them into the Kanto region."

"Contest's, what are those?"

* * *

Meowth was busy working night after night. Besides James sometimes, he was the mechanic of the group and held up that responsibility well. He used the small amount of money he received to build mechs, planes and weapons as they needed them.

However one night, he noticed another shop nearby. It was a new move reminder shop in the area. Seeing this, Meowth had an idea to make up for his lack of money.

The next day, he entered the shop with a sign attached to his tail and a Heart Scale he bought. The sign read "I sent my Meowth to learn Pay Day. He can walk back to me when he is done."

The shopkeeper saw this and took the Heart Scale. After some training that nobody can describe, Meowth had learned Pay Day and could get back to work.

Meowth left in glee, "Soon, all the Pokemon in the Indigo League will be in the hands of Team Rocket! … hopefully…."

* * *

 **Wow look at Team Rocket, people really work hard when lives are on the line. Anyways, next chapter continues to deviate from the anime, going to Victory Road.**


	6. Chapter 6: Path Of The Champion

**Time for the deviation from the anime to become even bigger. YAY!. Also sorry about Venusaur, but he kinda needs it, since things will go downhill quite soon and Charizard can't do everything… yet. Be on alert!. Also, this chapter may be very long in comparison to the others.**

(Chapter 6: Road to Victory)

* * *

Ash woke up with…

…

He is not awake…

…

…

I can't proceed with the story unless he is awake…

…

…

"PIKA CHUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU **UUUUUUUUUUU!"**

"AIGDIWUDOHWHBDLWBDKUWHBDKBHNGAHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Nevermind. Back to the story.

Ash woke up early in the morning, courtesy of Pikachu. Outside was still quite a bit starry and the sun was almost up. Everything was still, most of Pallet Town were still asleep. He yawned and shot a quick glare at his cheeky little starter. Getting out of bed, he got dressed for the morning and then noticed a certain date on his calendar.

The calendar reminded him exactly why he was awake much earlier than usual. It was 2 days before the Indigo League, and he needed to go register in the Viridian City Pokemon Center… something he should have done when he was at Viridian City, but since it was on the way to Victory Road, it wasn't that big of a deal… as long as he didn't blow it up again.

After changing, brushing his teeth, and eating a quick breakfast, he quickly said his goodbyes to his mother and left the house. He walked to the laboratory to pick up the five other Pokemon he would bring on his journey to Victory Road. He entered the lab, quickly greeted Professor Oak and grabbed his Pokemon—Muk, Krabby, and Tauros preferred the lab over travelling, so he didn't take them. He grabbed the Pokeball for his Fearow, Charizard, Pidgeotto, Squirtle and Haunter. Unfortunately, due to a hatchling war between the Gloom and Victreebel on the ranch, Venusaur was forced to stay behind and peace-keep. Ash sighed, he remembered when he was little, those two factions in the ranch fought constantly, and was the main reason he and Gary couldn't go on the ranch and play with the Pokemon there. Soon, Ash got to the edge of Pallet town, Misty and Brock were waiting for him.

Misty was the first to speak up, "There you are Ash, are you ready to go?"

Ash looked around and replied, "Yeah, but where is Gary? I thought he would travel with us."

Brock said, "He left before us. He wanted to get there early."

Ash sighed, "Whatever, we first go to Viridian City to sign up, then we go to Victory Road."

Misty yelled, "Why don't we just get going! We are wasting time!."

So the gang began to travel to Viridian City, quickly getting there before noon. Just like before, the route was peaceful and this time, had a lack of killer birds in the air. Soon, the three friends saw Viridian City approaching them. Ash immediately ran into the Pokemon Center and immediately registered for the Indigo League, showcasing his 8 badges. After getting registered and getting a check up on their Pokemon, Ash and the gang left for Victory Road.

Victory Road is a very dangerous part of Kanto. It is well known for having powerful and large Pokemon there as well as a very scary path. Then again, those who called it scary were also scared of a Pichu's Thundershock, so nobody ever took that opinion seriously. The caves are not as annoying as other caves in Kanto, as they are very straightforward, but Onix tend to make their own caves as well, so getting lost is definitely possible. The road runs from a cave into a large, mountainous canyon which is also full of powerful wild Pokemon. At the end of the winding path in the canyon, is a large valley, where the Indigo League stadiums are present.

Ash walked up to the entrance of Victory Road. It was about evening, but inside the humid and moody cave, that would not matter as it ran quite deep into the ground and never had a hole open into the sky. Ash looked to Pikachu, and Pikachu looked to him, nodding as well. The others understood their signals and took precautions. Victory Road was not a place to mess around. Wordlessly, they entered the cave and disappeared into its depths.

Ash and the gang walked quite a bit, through the winding paths inside the cave, occasionally battling wild Golbat. Ash's Pidgeotto was more than happy to tear through them. Squirtle was also sent out to stop attacks from the wild Onix, who sometimes attacked. The trip took them awhile, but eventually they made it to the canyon. At the exit was a young boy who had set up camp.

The boy noticed them and jumped, "Hey! Are you trainers?"

Brock and Misty looked at eachother, vainly attempting to not make eye contact with the oblivious trainer that stood before them. Why else would they be at Victory Road, if they weren't trainers? For what reason would anyone who was not challenging or a friend of a challenger go through Victory Road?

Ash said, "Yeah, I'm participating in the Indigo League, what about you?"

The boy replied, "Cool, me too. My name is John. You should probably set up camp; the canyon is quite long and it's nearly sundown."

Brock turned around and looked at the sky, confirming the boy's words.

Brock then dropped his bag and began to pull out equipment, "I'll set up our camp—you guys can do whatever you want."

Misty decided to go rest and sit down on a rock while Brock set up camp. A sudden scream coming from Misty alerted everyone. The rock had a Paras on it. Everyone else sweatdropped as Misty ran away. Ash sighed. "She will come back. Hopefully."

John snickered, "Hope she realises that there is a nest of Parasect in that direction."

Another bloodcurdling scream rang out and Misty ran all the way back, collapsing beside Brock inside the tent he just set up.

With a look of complete dread on her face, she whimpered, "I'll just stay here, thank you very much…"

Ash looked at the sun. There was still quite a bit of time before nightfall, so he decided to test his strength. "Hey, John, wanna have a battle? One versus one."

John smiled, "Why not? Perfect warm-up for the Indigo League."

They quickly ran to an open area, far away from both encampments. Both had a Pokeball in their hands.

 **(ASH VERSUS JOHN)**

 **[1 v 1]**

Ash yelled, "I'm going first. Fearow, I choose you!"

Fearow jumped out of its Pokeball screeching loudly, it landed in front of Ash, ready to battle.

John smirked, "In that case, I choose Rhyhorn!"

He threw a Pokeball and his Rhyhorn came out, leering at Fearow.

Ash made the first move, "Fearow, fly up and dive down with your **Fury Attack**!"

John followed up, "Rhyhorn, let's make this an easy win. **Thunderbolt**!"

Fearow heard that command and quickly flew up. It was a bit too slow as the attack struck it's wing, but it pushed through and began to descend straight for Rhyhorn. It squawked and rammed its beak into Rhyhorn's hide multiple times before flapping its wings powerfully, sending it back into the sky.

John yelled, " **Thunderbolt** again!"

Rhyhorn focused again and shot another thunderbolt from it's horn towards Fearow, striking him again, but Fearow just shook its head a bit and kept flying, surprising the Rhyhorn and it's trainer. Ticked off, Rhyhorn began unleashing as many Thunderbolts as it could towards Fearow. Most of them were easily dodged and the few that hit seemed to have no effect.

Fearow turned to look at Rhyhorn smugly, and said to Rhyhorn with a hint of mockery. "Pikachu shocks harder."

Ash then called his command, "Heh, that won't work. Fearow show them your strength, **Drill Run**!"

Fearow began to spin mid air, spinning so fast it looked like a drill. Not to mention that at this point, Fearow was practically a drill. A drill that was in free fall and had a nice red tip aimed towards Rhyhorn.

John panicked and cried, "Rhyhorn! Dodge it!."

Unfortunately for him, Rhyhorn couldn't get out of the way as the crazy bird smashed into it from 6000 feet above, knocking out the poor rhino Pokemon.

Ash smiled, "Alright Fearow! We won! Looks like all that training with Pikachu payed off."

Fearow just stood above it's foe, face full of pride.

John sighed, "Well, I guess I lost… Great job Rhyhorn."

He promptly returned his Rhyhorn, and turned to Ash who returned his Fearow as well. He looked at the sky and noticed the sun was almost down. "Guess we should head to bed dude."

Ash looked at him and smiled, "Yeah, good battle though. Your Rhyhorn was pretty stron-"

His friendly smile quickly turned into a frown, and then into a face of sheer shock. "John! Behind you, look out!"

John quickly ducked down as a Dragonite flew in and nearly took his head off. "Gah! What's a Dragonite doing here?"

Ash quickly pulled out his Pokedex and scanned it.

 **-DRAGONITE. THE DRAGON POKEMON. IT IS SAID THAT THIS POKEMON LIVES SOMEWHERE IN THE SEA AND THAT IT FLIES. HOWEVER, IT IS ONLY A RUMOR-**

Ash took a confused look at the Pokedex. Somehow it responded, but only briefly.

 **-NOTICE! POKEDEX REQUIRES UPDATE. UPDATES REMAINING: 1349841 -**

Ash facepalmed internally, he had not once updated it since he got it. It had data from when he wasn't even born.

The Dragonite landed in front of the two boys, it's eyes had a look of sheer rage and its body twitched as it flew into the air again. With a ton of power, it launched a powerful Hyper Beam at the two boys. Ash and John ran for their lives, barely making it out of the blast radius. Unfortunately, their exit back towards the encampments was now covered in rocks. They were left in an open area of the canyon, with no escape from the crazy dragon. Things got even worse when John realised a certain thing that was missing from his belt. "Crap, I left my Pokeballs back at the camp!"

Ash sighed, "Guess I gotta do all the fighting, that Dragonite looks like it's really mad and it's attacking everything in sight!"

John looked at Ash with shock, "Your going to battle that thing? Dragonite is one of the most powerful Pokemon in Kanto, what Pokemon do you possibly have that could stand up to it?"

Ash sternly said, "It's not like we have a choice! But first things first, Pidgeotto, I choose you!"

He threw Pidgeottos Pokeball into the air, releasing the bird. He quickly said, "Go past the rubble and find Misty and Brock, this is an emergency!"

Pidgeotto took one look at the deranged Dragonite and promptly flew as fast as it could, dodging a few Ice Beams on the way. Dragonite flew up and tried to chase the bird Pokemon. Ash on the other hand, took another Pokeball from his belt. He had no choice, he knew Dragonite was a fearsome opponent, but since when has that stopped a Pokemon Master? Unfortunately. he only had 4 Pokemon available for the battle since Pikachu was still at camp, and Pidgeotto just left.

He took a breath, he was fighting on his own. He glared at the Dragonite and threw a Pokeball.

"I wish I knew why you are so angry, but dragon-type Pokemon are too dangerous when in rage, so I'm sorry but I have to beat you! I choose you! Haunter!"

Haunter came out of the ball and looked at the angry Dragonite chasing and attacking Pidgeotto, instantly realising the severity of the situation. John quickly ran behind Ash, with only an injured Rhyhorn, he could do nothing but watch.

Ash yelled, "Haunter! I don't know why that Dragonite is so mad, but I know it's too dangerous to leave alone, so use **Lick** to paralyze it!"

Haunter nodded and disappeared. Dragonite suddenly stopped as it felt a tingle on it's back. It turned around and fired a Hyper Beam… and it did nothing to the ghost who disappeared immediately. Dragonite roared in frenzy and blasted a Flamethrower into the sky, clearly fine but getting angrier. At this point, Pidgeotto was nowhere to be seen.

Ash sighed in relief and commanded, "Pidgeotto is safe. So blast it with **Night Shade**!"

Haunter reappeared and shot a pitch-black laser out of its eyes from underneath Dragonite. Dragonite saw this and flew out of the way. It then shot a powerful Flamethrower at Haunter at close range, giving it no time to dodge. Haunter landed on the ground, knocked out. But Dragonite didn't look like it was done.

Ash noticed this and yelled, "Haunter! You did great, return!"

Before Dragonite could do anymore damage, he returned Haunter just as Dragonite launched an Ice Beam towards it. The dragon set its sights on Ash again. Ash stared back and thought, " _What could have caused this Dragonite to go on a rampage? Did we do anything wrong?_ "

Ash then pulled out another Pokeball, "I need you! Fearow!"

Fearow came out of its Pokeball screeching and ready to fight, but looked shocked at it's opponent. One look at the terrain and surroundings told it that this was not a normal battle, rather a fight that risked both it and it's trainer. Dragonite leered at it and then fired a Flamethrower at Ash. It landed by Ash, wings outstretched.

Ash realised Fearow couldn't dodge or else he would get hit. He quickly yelled, "Fearow, **Drill Peck**! Go into the Flamethrower!"

Realising it's trainers plan, it started to spin like a drill and shot towards the Flamethrower attack, blasting it around Fearow, instantly destroying the attack. It managed to strike its beak into Dragonite at a high speed.

Dragonite roared in pain and shot a Dragon Rage attack, followed by two Ice Beams. Fearow flew up into the air and dodged them.

Ash quickly moved out of the way of the attacks and commanded, "Fearow, **Hyper Beam**!"

Fearow nodded and began to charge the attack in its beak. Noticing this, the Dragonite looked at Fearow and charged it's Hyper Beam, but it was much quicker. Fearow squawked in surprise as the beam was shot at him, knocking him out of the sky. He landed unconscious in front of Ash.

Ash stared in horror. During training, he learned that Fearow was one of his strongest Pokemon, and now it had fallen to the dragon. Granted, the battle against Rhyhorn probably weakened it but now Ash only had 2 Pokemon left. Suddenly, Dragonite launched another Hyper Beam, aimed towards the fallen Fearow.

Ash quickly swapped Pokemon, returning his Fearow and sending out his Squirtle.

Squirtle looked at the Dragonite and stood its ground. Dragonite looked at it, eyes still full of rage and launched a Dragon Rage at the poor turtle.

Ash quickly intervened, "Squirtle, dodge with **Rapid Spin** , then slow it down with **Bubble**!"

Squirtle immediately went into its shell and spun out of the giant ball of dragon energy aimed at it. He then jumped back out and shot bubbles out of its mouth at the dragon. The bubbles smacked Dragonite in the face, but all it did was make it angrier as it shot yet another Hyper Beam at Ash. Squirtle saw this and jumped in the way of the attack.

Ash gasped as the smoke from the attack dissipated. Squirtle was unconscious in front of him, taking the attack for him, it was in pretty bad shape, charred black in most areas and with cracks in its shell. It was clear that Squirtle would not heal anytime soon. Ash looked down at the unconscious and mangled turtle. Ash had tears in his eyes as he raised it's Pokeball.

He stammered, "S..Squi...Squirtle… return…"

He looked at the Dragonite and pulled out his last Pokeball. "CHARIZARD! I CHOOSE YOU!"

Charizard left it's Pokeball, about to lie down and rest until it saw its opponent. A Dragonite.

Ash cried, "Charizard please, I need you to beat that Dragonite."

Normally, Charizard would have scoffed at it's weak trainer and refuse to obey, but this time was an exception. A Dragonite was a perfect opponent for it. It flew into the air and launched a Flamethrower attack at the dragon. Dragonite dodged it and shot a Dragon Rage attack back. Charizard saw this and shot his own Dragon Rage, briefly overpowering Dragonite, sending it back towards the ground. Dragonite quickly recovered and flew towards Charizard, charging up an Ice Beam. Charizard was prepared however and fired a Fire Blast at the dragon Pokemon.

Ash and John watched in awe and horror as Dragonite and Charizard continuously battled each other in the sky. The battle destroyed the barren landscape, as the two Pokemon smashed into canyon walls and shot attacks in every direction, charring and even melting the landscape. Ash and John were also constantly forced to dodge attacks due to the intensity of the battle destroying the area they were standing on.

John commented as he ducked out of the way of an stray Ice Beam, "Wow, mighty Charizard you got there."

Ash dodged a stray Flamethrower and replied, "Yeah, wish it would listen to me thought."

John smiled in sympathy, "With a Pokemon that powerful, it would take a trainer with exceptional skill to tame it. Don't be too hard on yourself. It will listen to you eventually."

(Meanwhile)

Pidgeotto flew as fast as it could, twisting and turning through the canyon, looking for Misty and Brock, though that was proving difficult due to the darkness in the sky. Then, out of the corner of its eyes it saw a little campfire. It decided to hedge its bets and go for it.

It flew towards the campfire, but Pidgeotto didn't see Brock or Misty. Instead, she saw another Dragonite. She froze in fear, which made her forget for a crucial second that she was flying. She fell into the ground and squawked. The Dragonite turned around and looked at her. Then a voice Pidgeotto had never heard of before spoke, "Dragonite, what's wrong?"

A man in his twenties came up beside the Dragon Pokemon. Pidgeotto, realising that this Dragonite was a trainer's Pokemon, sighed in relief. She then remembered about Ash, and began to frantically squawk to the Dragonite. The Dragonite listened and looked at it's trainer. The trainer put a hand on Dragonite and closed his eyes.

Quickly, the man let go and turned to Pidgeotto. "Quickly, where is your trainer right now?"

Pidgeotto flew off, Dragonite and it's trainer right behind her.

(Back to Ash)

Suddenly, a loud boom rang out knocking the boy's off their feet. Ash and John looked up and saw Charizard falling from the sky.

Ash's eyes widened, "Oh no…"

John screamed, "ITS OVER! WERE DOOMED"

Ash grimaced, "Not if I can help it"

And Ash began to run towards the falling Charizard.

Charizard was falling fast and it knew it. It battled as hard as it could, but the foe was just too powerful. It landed on it's back on the ground with a loud crash, roaring in pain. It tried to get up with little success, only managing to bring it's neck up. Dragonite landed and Charizard's eyes widened.

Dragonite was charging up a Water Pulse.

But that's not what surprised it. What surprised it was Ash.

Ash ran up in front of Charizard, arms spread. With determination in his eyes, he jumped in front of the attack just before it hit Charizard, taking the brunt of the attack. Ash fell to the ground in pain, but he stood up again. He ran back to Charizard with his arms spread, trying his hardest to protect Charizard.

During the situation, Charizard noticed one detail out of the corner of his eye.

His Pokeball. It was cracked. The sudden realization came to him, that Ash could not return him, and instead of abandoning him, he chose to try to protect him.

Abandoning…. That word…

…

It reminded him of Damien…

He mentally roared at that name. If it wasn't for Ash, that fu-

Wait… If it wasn't for Ash….

Ash…

…

Memories began to flood into Charizard. It remembered how it was abused and abandoned by Damien, how Ash had saved him, how he changed when he evolved. He thought that his trainer was weak and unworthy, but now that he thought about it, why did he ever think that?

It didn't matter now. His impression of Ash changed back to what it was as a Charmander. Not a weak and lousy trainer, but one that truly cared.

Dragonite, on the other hand, was already charging up it's next attack.

Ash looked back to Charizard and said. "Go and escape, I'll take care of this."

He then turned to Dragonite and yelled. **"All right, you! I don't think you know who you're dealing with! But I'm Ash Ketchum, from Pallet Town! And I'm gonna be the world's greatest Pokemon Master! Mess with me and you're gonna lose! I fight for my Pokemon, for my friends, and for tomorrow. NOW HAVE AT ME!"**

Dragonite obliged and charged up a Hyper Beam aimed at Ash. Charizard closed its eyes, it couldn't look at what was about to happen. Everything fell into slow motion.

But then, he heard something else.

"Dragonite! Strike that wild Dragonite with **Ice Beam**!" an unknown voice said.

Charizard opened its eyes. Both it and Ash watched as another Dragonite stood in front of them, along with a red-haired man. John was standing behind him, also looking surprised.

The wild Dragonite was struggling in a block of ice!

Ash took one look at the man and recognized him immediately. "Wait a second! You're Lance from the Elite 4!"

Lance replied, "Are you alright? This Dragonite is the one I've been searching for. It's trainer abandoned it on Victory Road as a Dratini and it absolutely despises humans. The trainer was arrested a while ago, but the Dratini was never found."

Lance turned back and looked at the now weakened, wild Dragonite. "You have caused enough trouble here, so prepare yourself to be captured!"

Dragonite's eyes widened as a Pokeball was thrown. The capture was immediate. Lance picked up the Pokeball and sighed. "Hopefully I can help you."

Lance then turned around said, "Now we need to take care of you. It's evident that your Pokemon require immediate medical attention. The nearest Pokemon Center is at the Indigo Plateau. Return your Pokemon and let's go.

Ash replied, "I can't return Charizard, his Pokeball broke during the battle.

Lance sighed, thought for a bit and then said, "Then, I think I can bring a Nurse Joy out here to help. Stay put and make sure Charizard doesn't get hurt even further.

Ash nodded.

Lance immediately jumped on Dragonite and flew off in the direction of the Indigo Plateau. Ash and John watched as sped off towards their destination. In the meantime, Ash went and sat beside Charizard, who was still lying down. Pidgeotto also landed right beside them. Ash sat and watched his weakened Charizard with tears on his cheek. He said in a weak and quiet voice, "I'm sorry. Your hurt because of me."

Charizard heard this and with the last of his energy, he shook his head and growled a bit. Then, his injuries got to him and he fell unconscious.

"CHARIZARD!"

All time stopped for Ash at that moment.

* * *

 **First of all, this was planned. There is no way I'm BSing Ash's battle against Ritchie. No way is his Pokemon getting taken out for disobedience and sleep. That was stupid. Ash in this story is not stupid. Just dense, naive and hyper. Ash to me, won most of his battles in the anime with strategies, that were surprisingly effective. Unlike many other writers, I would rather he keep that way, since that is one of his two specialties, with the other being his bond with his Pokemon. Also, Ash will not be an overpowered trainer, he will become smarter over time, but not overpowered.**


	7. Chapter 7: A Flame Reignited

**As you may have noticed, the last chapter was quite long. It was a pleasure to write, but a butch to edit… I mean bitch. Chapters may be longer from now on. Or they may not. Depends.**

(Chapter 7: A Flame Reignited)

* * *

Ash and John were sitting at a table. After Charizard had collapsed, Lance had arrived not only with a medical team, but Brock and Misty had tagged along with them after hearing what happened. They sat in silence as they waited for news on Ash's Charizard. Ash himself was covered in bandages, but he did not care. He was worried for his Charizard. The only one who was even near Ash was Pikachu, trying to comfort it's trainer.

Suddenly, the medical sign lit up. Everyone turned and saw Nurse Joy come out of the operation room. Tension went up as she walked towards them. Even Brock was still.

She flashed a smile and said, "Charizard will make a full recovery, but I must ask one question."

Ash still had an emotionless face, but replied. "What?"

Nurse Joy clearly saw the look on Ash's face but continued, "Have you ever abused Charizard?"

Ash's emotions returned immediately and with anger in his voice he replied, "Never. I don't abuse Pokemon."

Misty and Brock also had a look of shock. Misty cried, "Ash might not be the bright, but he is kind towards his Pokemon.

Brock sternly said, "His Pokemon followed him, he earned their trust through friendship more than battle."

John also spoke up, "From what I can tell, he is a great trainer and a friend towards his Pokemon."

Nurse Joy lost her smile and said, "Then explain this."

She showed the gang scars and marks deep within Charizard's skin. They were clearly not caused by the battle against Dragonite, they looked more like they were causes of constant and relentless abuse.

Misty and Brock looked in disgust. Ash quietly said, "Probably from his previous trainer. That bastard."

Nurse Joy suspiciously asked, "And who was this trainer may I ask?"

The three instantly and solemnly said, "Damien."

The look of suspicion left Nurse Joy's face, replaced with a face of shock and realization. "Oh my goodness, that was one of his Pokemon?"

Ash sighed and said, "Well Charizard used to be. When he was a Charmander, he was left to die on a rock. Damien tricked it into thinking that he would come back. If it wasn't for us, it would be dead."

Nurse Joy looked at the sadly. "That is not what I wanted to hear. I hoped when I heard you say Damien that you got him in a trade. Then, it can be traced back to him and he can finally be charged, but I guess not. I guess he continues to bury his evidence."

Ash looked up at Nurse Joy and asked, "So he hasn't been arrested for Pokemon abuse yet?"

Nurse Joy looked down. "Sadly, No. We can't find any evidence and I doubt he would reveal any."

Silence echoed in the building for a minute.

Suddenly, Chansey came out of the operation room with a brand new Pokeball.

Nurse Joy quickly returned to her normal, joyful persona. "Ah, This Pokeball will replace your broken one, just re-capture Charizard."

Ash quickly grabbed the ball and with Nurse Joy and Chansey, he entered the operation room. Charizard was awake and lying down. It looked at Ash.

Ash took a breath and looked back. He asked his question. "Charizard, as of now you are wild due to damage to your Pokeball. Do you want to come back and join me, or do you want to be released?

Charizard got up and walked towards Ash, no apparent emotion on his face. The two looked at eachother.

Then, Charizard used Flamethrower-

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHDHWIUHDIWUDGHIWDOW"

-and entered the Pokeball, which signalled the re-capture.

Ash layed on the ground, burnt lightly and groaned. "Ow..."

Suddenly, Ash had an idea and asked Nurse Joy if he could leave through the back door. Nurse Joy saw the look on Ash's face and determined he was up to something, but nothing harmful. She let him out and Ash sent Charizard out. "Alright Charizard let's surprise everyone."

Charizard agreed. They took off into the air, Ash riding Charizard.

Meanwhile, Brock and Misty were still inside. John had left after receiving his Rhyhorn from the Chansey. Pikachu was lying down on Brock when he heard something.

Pikachu quickly dashed outside. Misty and Brock following Pikachu. What they saw shocked them.

"Hey guys! I'm up here!"

Ash was riding Charizard. Misty and Brock cheered, as Ash landed. "Alright, the league will start soon. We are registered already so let's get some training in before the ceremony begins!"

Pikachu jumped on Ash's shoulder and cried, "Pika Pikachu!" and they took off into the air, back towards Victory Road. Brock and Misty looked at them as they disappeared into the horizon.

Brock smiled and said. "He did it."

A familiar voice behind him replied, "I know from experience that Charizard are very stubborn, but loyal and fierce when you touch their heart. He fought not with Charizard, but at Charizard's side. That is something quite special if you ask me."

Brock and Misty turned around and saw Lance watching with them.

Lance smiled and held up something he was carrying. He told them, "Give this to Ash when he returns. I can tell he will be a good trainer for this Pokemon. It's not everyday you risk your life for someone else and those kind of people can be trusted in the most dire situations. Such an act deserves a reward, no?"

Brock and Misty looked at the small slender Pokemon that was sleeping in Lance's arms. Both of their jaws dropped. Lance was holding a Dratini, one that he would give to Ash. While people knew about this Pokemon, it was extremely rare, yet a member of the Elite 4 of Kanto was willing to give it to their friend. They couldn't believe it.

Lance looked amused at their shocked faces and said. "This Pokemon is the offspring of my Dragonite and was born quite recently, but it's old enough to live without its parents. While no use in battle now, Ash will raise it well."

Brock carefully and gently took the sleeping dragon from Lance. Soon after that, Lance left for the Indigo Stadium.

Evening came fast and Dratini continued to sleep. Ash was heading back towards the Indigo Plateau, the ceremony was starting in a few hours and he didn't want to be late. Soon, he spotted Misty and Brock waiting for him at the front of the Pokemon Center. He landed, returned Charizard and greeted them.

It wasn't long before he noticed the sleeping dragon on Misty's lap. He asked her about it. "Hey, where did you get that Dratini?"

Misty looked at Brock. Brock nodded. Misty took a deep breath and said, "Its yours."

Ash stifled a small laugh, took one look at Misty's face and realized she wasn't joking. "Wait. What?"

Brock carefully took the small serpentine Pokemon and gave it to Ash. Ash reached out for the sleeping dragon in shock.

Brock told him, "Lance gave it to you, it's the offspring of his own Dragonite."

Ash just held the dragon Pokemon in his arms, watching it sleep calmly and peacefully. It quietly cooed in Ash's arms, face with content. Ash smiled at the young dragon. Then, Dratini slowly woke up. It blinked a bit and yawned, then looked at what was holding it, Ash.

Ash looked at Dratini and said, "I guess I'm your trainer now. Do you trust me?"

He held out a Pokeball with his wrist. Dratini remembered what Lance had told her.

"Soon, me and Dragonite have to leave you, I want you to grow up with a good and trustful trainer. Now, I have found one, one who was willing to sacrifice his life for his Pokemon. You will be in good hands."

Dratini nodded and pressed the Pokeballs button. She vanished inside and the ball dinged, signalling a successful capture.

Ash couldn't hold back. "YEAH! I GOT A DRATINI!"

Then the Pokeball vanished. Ash quickly ran into the Pokemon center and called Professor Oak. He later came out of the center again with Dratini in his arms. He told his friends, "Since Dratini is new, I want to keep her out of her Pokeball."

Brock smiled and nodded, "I agree."

Suddenly Ash remembered why he was back, "Oh! The ceremony is going to start at any moment now! Pikachu! DratinI! Let's go!"

The two Pokemon cried their names as Ash ran off towards the Indigo Stadium with the two on his shoulders. Misty and Brock went towards the spectator stands.

Soon, Ash entered the stadium, presented ID and joined the large group of trainers. They waited for a bit, as the spectators began to increase and fill the stands. Ash spotted Gary and John, both looking ready. Unfortunately, he also saw someone he didn't want to see, Damien. Suddenly, a torch runner came through the stadium and ran up the steps towards the flame.

Ash quickly eyed the pink haired guard and the blue haired guard, but they didn't look suspicious and they did nothing as the torch runner passed them. He stopped at the torch, waiting for a signal. Then, a loud booming voice was heard.

"Light the torch!"

He lit the torch and nothing happened. He tried again and again, but nothing happened. Soon, the crowd began to mutter and converse in confusion. The trainers were wither annoyed or just as confused. The loud voice came back.

"There seems to be some technical difficulties with the torch, it seems that we may have to delay the ceremony."

The crowd groaned. The a girl screamed and pointed. Slowly people began to look in the direction she pointed and also began loudly screaming and cheering. Ash turned around and looked at the torch, the same direction that was pointed at. There stood Moltres.

Moltres looked at all of the people and blew a large flame at the torch, instantly setting it aflame. She then flew off in the horizon. The crowd roared in amazement, but was silenced by the loud voice again.

"Well, that works too. Anyways, I am Charles Goodshow, the head of the Pokemon League Committee, and I welcome you to this year's Indigo League. Every trainer here has earned their place to this prestigious event, so give them a round of applause."

The crowd applauded and cheered.

"Now, this year every trainer will give it them all. I ask that you fight a good fight, fair, strategic and with power. I ask that you show us all you and your Pokemon to your fullest potential. Let the battles begin!"

The crowd roared even louder.

"And remember. The winner will be able to challenge the Elite 4 of Kanto and will receive a trophy in their, and their Pokemon's names. But before that, we must get through the preliminaries. A trainer must win in each of the leagues 4 fields to pass. Only the top 32 will advance."

Every trainer looked at each other, they were all rivals now. Nobody wanted to lose, everyone was aiming for the top.

Ash looked at Pikachu and Dratini. His first and most recent Pokemon. It was the time for his to show everyone what he was made of.

He made it to the Indigo Plateau. The first stepping stone to becoming a Pokemon Master.

* * *

 **Shorter chapter, but still rich with story. For the next chapters, I will be writing Ash's battles for the most part. I can tell you that his opponents will be similar for the most part, but how the battle's end will be different for the most part. Next time, a certain unused Pokemon of Ash, will be crushing his way to victory. Also, on another note, I have a new computer so I might indulge in my other hobbies for a bit as now I have the processing power to do those. But I will still update the story.**


	8. Chapter 8: The Claw That Clicks

**Time for Ash to confront something that he noticed before. It's been long enough of a wait, but Ash is going to discover a new ability he has this chapter. Hope you don't mind that he has this ability.**

(Chapter 8: The Claw That Clicks)

* * *

It was a quiet night at the Indigo Plateau. Most of the competing trainers were fast asleep in their hotel rooms, but not Ash. Ash was wide awake on his bed in his hotel room, unable to sleep. He was just too excited about the competition to sleep. He turned around in his bed and looked at where Pikachu and Dratini were sleeping.

However, when he looked over, he noticed that it wasn't two Pokemon sleeping beside him, but just one, his Dratini. He instantly thought, " _Where is Pikachu?"_

His eyes darted around the room and soon focused on the light seeping into his room through the an open door. At that moment, Pikachu walked into the room with a tired smile on his face, hit the door with his tail, closing it. He then quickly climbed onto Ash's bed and snuggled beside him.

Ash looked at the electric rodent and quietly said, "Where did you go Pikachu?"

Pikachu just squeaked his name out loud, but Ash heard, "In the park."

Ash just stared in confusion at the half-asleep mouse and remembered other times that he heard his Pokemon's voices. From the time he heard Squirtle during his Viridian Gym match, to the time he heard Pikachu when he fought off Cassidy and that other guy. Was it possible that he was beginning to understand his Pokemon? He knew he wasn't born with that ability, and it only began happening after the incident at New Island. Was it possible that this was a side-effect of his revival?

Ash decided to test the waters and said to Pikachu, "Where in the park?"

Pikachu eyes instantly shot open and he stared at Ash in realization that Ash had replied to what it said earlier. Ash took this as a sign that he was not going crazy, and indeed understood what Pikachu said.

Ash then told Pikachu, "I keep hearing voices around you guys, but not all the time. I feel like the incident at New Island might be the cause."

Pikachu nodded and squeaked his name a few times. Ash on the other hand, heard, "Maybe."

Ash flopped down on his pillow and sighed. "So much cool stuff has happened since then. From my father to meeting Lance. I wonder where our journey will take us in the future."

Pikachu snuggled up to Ash's arms and said, "Me too."

Ash then smiled at Pikachu and said, "Whatever is happening, soon we are going to battle in the Indigo League. We should probably get some sleep. We can think about our future journey after we win the Indigo League."

Pikachu nodded and said, "Sounds like a plan!"

Soon, the two joined Dratini in dreamland.

The next morning, Ash, Pikachu and Dratini sat at a table in the Pokemon Center along with Brock and Misty, planning Ash's team for his first match in the tournament. On the display in the center, it showed that Ash's first battle was in the afternoon, against a trainer who called themselves, Mandi the Astounding, in the Water Arena. Ash saw this as a perfect opportunity to use his Krabby and his friends reluctantly agreed. They knew Krabby was trained, but it had never battled before, so the decision could be good, or bad.

After receiving his Krabby, and picking Squirtle and Pikachu as his other two Pokemon for the first round, Ash still had the entire morning to prepare for his afternoon battle. He spent the time alone from his friends, secretly talking to his Pokemon. He wanted to understand his Pokemon better and learn all about them to strengthen their bonds.

Around noon, Ash walked out of the Pokemon Center with his Pokemon on his shoulders. Brock and Misty were outside, talking to each other about the care of water Pokemon while they watched a screen that showed a recently won battle in the Ice Field. Ash saw the winner and smiled, it was Gary who won and he was boasting to the press about his win.

"Well naturally, winning your first battle is always important. Of course in every Pokemon match, there has to be a winner and there has to be a loser. The trainer's I know are real winners, but still won't beat me!"

Ash was about to walk to his friends, until he heard a voice nearby, "Looks like my opponent is just some rookie kid, no way will he beat me, Mandi the Astounding!"

Ash turned around and saw his first opponent in the Indigo League, a man in his early 20's with long green hair and wearing what looked like part of a juggler's costume. He was surrounded with an audience of fans, performing magic tricks, while boasting about his battle prowess. Ash saw the arrogant look on Mandi's face and grimaced. He was not going to lose to someone like him.

He then yelled, "We'll see about that Mandi!"

Mandy turned to Ash's direction and smirked arrogantly, "As if, I, Mandi the Astounding, will easily take you out, tough luck kid!"

Misty and Brock noticed the commotion and before a fight could start, they took Ash away from the situation.

* * *

(A few hours later)

* * *

Ash was sitting in the waiting room of the water arena. He was watching 2 trainers battling on a screen. After those two trainers battled, he would be up next. Brock and Misty were beside him, acting as coaches for the battle. Ash didn't want to mess up his first time in a Pokemon League.

Soon, the green side trainer took out his opponents final Pokemon. The trainers left the arena and an announcement was made inside the waiting room.

"Would Ash Ketchum and Mandi Komu please enter the Water Arena."

Misty sighed and smiled at Ash, "Well, it's time to go. Let's see if our Water training was worth it!"

Ash nervously looked forward and said, "Hopefully it was. I hope I don't mess up."

Brock turned to Ash and said, "You will be fine, we have all seen you battle before, you aren't exactly a beginner anymore. You picked your Pokemon for the situation and you trained them quite well. It's not like you are throwing a freshly caught and untrained Krabby at your opponent."

Ash smiled, "Thanks Brock. Now let's do this!"

With those words said, the trio stood up and entered the arena, Brock and Misty staying on the coaches bench with Dratini, who was still sleeping, while Ash and Pikachu walked up to the competitors platform. The field was a circular pool with 5 floating pontoons. It was clear that Water type Pokemon had a clear advantage on the terrain.

Mandi was already at the other side of the field. He arrogantly said, "It's showtime. Ash, time for me to show you my magic!"

Ash quickly countered and said, "Well I have a few tricks of my own. I'll show you I'm not just some twerp!"

Suddenly, the announcer interrupted the two, "For our next battle on the Water Field, it will be a battle between Ash Ketchum on the green side and Mandi the Astounding on the red side. Ash Ketchum is joined by his coaches, as he faces off against one of the most popular League Challengers!"

The crowd roared in anticipation. Meanwhile the referee spoke up, "This will be a 3 on 3 battle with substitutions. Are you both ready?"

Mandi and Ash nodded.

The referee then yelled, "Then let the battle begin!"

 **(ASH VERSUS MANDI)**

 **[3 v 3]**

Ash quickly took Krabby's Pokeball and threw it onto one of the floating pontoons, releasing the Crab Pokemon. Mandi pulled out his own Pokeball and threw it on another pontoon.

"Go Krabby/Exeggutor!" They yelled.

Exeggutor came out onto the pontoon. It looked like a coconut tree with legs and three coconuts for heads.

Mandi quickly commanded, "Let's take this battle early, use your magnificent **Psychic** attack!"

Exeggutor stood on the pontoon in silence, while the eyes on it's three heads began to glow a faint blue.

Ash noticed this and remembered his battle against Sabrina. Suddenly, he got an idea and said, "Krabby jump into the pool, make it lose its concentration on you!"

Mandi smirked and said, "That won't work! My Exeggutor won't let that happen!"

Krabby ran towards the water but then, a faint blue glow surrounded it and threw it into the air. He tried to struggle free from the invisible grip, but just squirmed helplessly in the air. Exeggutor held still, concentrating his psychic energy onto Krabby, forcing it to stay airborne.

Ash looked at Exeggutor and saw another way to stop it's concentration. "Krabby, **Leer** Attack!"

Krabby heard his trainers command and leered at Exeggutor with as much power as it could. Evidently, Exeggutor saw this and stepped backwards in fear, losing his concentration for a second, which Krabby used to dive underwater, forcing Exeggutor to lose sight of it, cancelling out any other psychic attacks.

Brock yelled out from the coaches bench, "Alright! Ash managed to escape that Psychic attack!"

Mandi just smirked and said, "Exeggutor, **Egg Bomb** attack! Displace the water and hit it with **Leech Seed** when it gets flung out of the water!"

Exeggutor launched a bunch of explosive eggs into the air, which exploded in contact with the water, creating tons of waves and splashing that didn't faze Exeggutor. The announcer also noticed this and commented, "Well folks, it seems that Mandi has trained his Exeggutor well, showcasing it's powerful Psychic and Grass type properties!"

Mandi arrogantly smirked and closed his eyes to listen to the audience cheer for him. But this proved to be a mistake as Ash launched another attack. "Krabby use **Vice Grip**!"

Mandi quickly opened his eyes, losing composure for a bit before saying, "Hah! Exeggutor! Now is the time for that **Leech Seed** you prepared!"

Exeggutor had already charged up the attack and began using it's three heads to look around for Krabby. It was ready to fire at any moment.

Ash just grinned, confusing Mandi. Suddenly, Krabby jumped out of the water and lunged with it's claw towards Exeggutor. Exeggutor expected it and shot it's seed at Krabby. But to Mandi and Exeggutor's surprise, the claw was not directly aimed at Exeggutor, but at the Leech Seed, cutting it in half. Misty smirked. She remembered teaching Krabby how it could cut down Grass-type attacks with it's powerful pincers.

Ash cheered and yelled, "Our Grass-Type defense worked! Alright! Krabby, **Stomp** it now!"

Krabby used the momentum it already had, jumping out of the water, ready to stomp on Exeggutor.

Mandi quickly said, "What a fool, show them the magic of **Reflect**!"

Ash heard that and cried, 'Oh no! Krabby look out!"

Krabby was too slow and stomped on Exeggutor, who had covered itself in a light green shield, cutting the damage, leaving it unfazed. Exeggutor then shook Krabby off itself, knocking it down onto the pontoon, vulnerable.

Ash saw this and thought, " _That Exeggutor is just too strong, none of Krabby's moves can compete with those psychic attacks and defences."_ he then yelled, "Krabby return."

However, Krabby simply gestured and said, "NO!, I CAN TAKE HIM."

Ash sighed and said, "Alright, I guess not then. Try a **Crabhammer**!"

Mandi laughed and yelled, "Foolish boy, now Exeggutor, give them an encore with **Psychic** again!"

Krabby's claw began to glow but it never came near Exeggutor as it was lifted up into the air again, out of reach. This time, Exeggutor continued to fling it around in the air, causing damage.

Ash panicked and said, "Gah! Krabby, get out of there! **Leer**!"

Mandi smirked and said, "Not this time boy, Exeggutor, close your eyes!"

Exeggutor was all too happy to oblige, closing its eyes as Krabby tried to leer at it. While the attack had no effect, Mandi realized his mistake. Without it's eyes open, Exeggutor couldn't focus on Krabby.

Ash took the opportunity and said, "Alright, all or nothing Krabby, **Stomp** it an angle, knock it into the pool!"

After Exeggutor closed its eyes, Krabby lunged at it with its own feet, smashing into Exeggutor's face, which knocked it backwards. It cried out in pain and tripped off the edge of the pontoon, falling into the water.

Mandi looked in shock and cried out, "What? Exeggutor no!"

The announcer took the chance and said, "What a comeback, Ketchum has knocked his opponents Pokemon into the water!"

Misty and Brock saw this and cheered. The crowd followed suit.

Ash saw his chance and victory and yelled, "Alright Krabby! **Crabhammer** it over and over! Use the water to attack it from every angle!"

Misty happily commented, "Yes! Exeggutor can't escape Krabby now! He has a clear shot!"

Exeggutor squirmed in the water, trying to reach the pontoon, but couldn't due to its lack of arms. Suddenly, Krabby jumped behind it and smashed it into the side of the pontoon with a Crabhammer, then swimming around Exeggutor, striking it from every angle. Exeggutor cried out in pain as it took the barrage of attacks head on. Eventually, Krabby jumped out of the water and did one last Crabhammer to Exeggutors head. This hit knocked it out.

The referee raised his flag and yelled, "Exeggutor is unable to battle. Krabby is the winner!"

The crowd cheered and the announcer yelled, "Spectacular! Rookie Trainer Ash Ketchum has knocked out his opponents Pokemon with cunning strategy. Huh? Whats this?!"

Suddenly, Krabby began to glow a bright white, growing in size and changing the shape of its body and claws.

Mandi cried out, "No way!"

Ash cheered and said, "Alright! Krabby is evolving!"

Kingler emerged from the light and said to his trainer, "Keep me in! Lets see this NEW POWER! I FEEL AMAZING!"

Mandy quickly returned his Pokemon and commented, "Beginners luck! Let's see how your Kingler faces against my speedy Seadra!"

He threw another ball and sent out his Seadra into the water. Seadra was a very spiky Pokemon that resembled a blue seahorse. Kingler just stood on his pontoon, waiting for his trainer to make a move. He didn't have to wait long.

Ash yelled, " **Leer** Attack!"

Mandi cried out, "Time for a magic trick, **Smokescreen**!"

Seadra instantly let out a noxious cloud of smoke into the air, which surrounded it rendering Kingler unable to see it. Kingler's Leer attack had no effect as Kingler looked around in the moke, trying to spot Seadra.

Mandi arrogantly said, "Too bad for your Kingler, my speedy Seadra thrives in these waters, use **Hydro Pump**!"

From the cloud of smoke, Seadra suddenly emerged and leaped above Kingler, firing a Hydro Pump at it. Kingler quickly stepped out of the way of the attack and jumped into the water in pursuit of the seahorse Pokemon.

Ash saw Seadra move around and decided the best course of action was to stop it from moving.

"Kingler catch it with **Vice Grip**!"

Kingler dove underwater, out of sight as Seadra sped across the water's surface. Suddenly, it sprang up in front of Seadra and tried to grab it with his claw. Mandy was quick to retaliate. " **Agility**!"

Seadra instantly sped across the pool, avoiding the Vice Grip attack as it swirled and circled Kingler.

Misty and Brock watched the second battle, worried about Ash and Kingler. Seadra had range and speed, which gave Kingler no chance to fight back. Ash had to think of something, or else it would outlast Kingler.

Ash quickly yelled, "Kingler get back onto the pontoon!"

Mandi saw this and took the opportunity, "Seadra, **Hydro Pump** attack!"

Ash watched in shock as Seadra fired a Hydro Pump, striking Kingler as it climbed onto the pontoon. The blast knocked it into the wall, but it was still able to battle. Mandi smirked and said, "Your Kingler is no match for my Seadra! Finish it with **Whirlpool**!"

With Kingler back in the water, Seadra began to spin and a whirlpool began to form around himself. Kingler slowly began to get drawn into the whirlpool.

But to everyone's surprise, Ash just grinned. Soon Misty and Brock realized why Ash was grinning. Ash then said to Mandi, "Mandi, looks like you made an Astounding mistake! Seadra has nowhere to run!"

Mandi's eyes widened in realization, "Oh no! Seadra escape quickly!"

Ash yelled out, "Kingler, ride the whirlpool and **Vice Grip** it!"

Seadra stopped spinning and began to swim away, until it realized it was still in a whirlpool. Then, Kingler came in, riding the whirlpool and snagged Seadra with a tight Vice Grip as the water began to calm down. Seadra wriggled and struggled, but Kingler kept it's grip on it's opponent.

Ash smiled, his opponent made a mistake due to his arrogance and now he would pay. "Kingler throw Seadra onto a pontoon and **Stomp** it!"

Kingler began to wind up it's claw and then it threw Seadra onto a nearby pontoon. Seadra flopped on the surface, trying to escape back into the water, but it was too slow. Kingler jumped out of the water and stomped Seadra with all its weight.

Mandi growled and yelled, "I am not out of tricks boy, **Hydro Pump** , escape into the water!"

Using the momentum from its own Hydro Pump, Seadra launched itself off of the pontoon and back into the water.

Mandi smirked and commanded, "Now use **Agility**!"

Seadra rose up to the water surface and began to quickly swim around the area avoiding contact with Kingler. Ash quickly countered, "Kingler! Jump in and use **Leer**!"

Kingler jumped into the water and leered at Seadra which stopped in fear and from tiredness. Ash took note of that and decided to finish the battle.

Mandi panicked and quickly said, " **Hydro Pump** again!"

Ash smirked and yelled, "Seadra is tired, **Vice Grip** it and throw it back onto the pontoon!"

Kingler began to swim towards the tired Seadra which fired Hydro Pumps at its opponent. Kingler dodged all of them and grabbed Seadra, throwing it back onto the pontoon. On the pontoon, Seadra struck Kingler with a Hydro Pump as it climbed up, but that didn't faze it at all.

Ash called his final command, "Kingler **Stomp** it!"

Kingler grabbed Seadra, jumped into the air and threw it down onto the pontoon with a ton of force. Then it stomped on Seadra with as much power as it could manage, finally knocking it out.

Mandi cried out, "I can't believe it!"

The referee called out, "Seadra is unable to battle, Kingler is the winner!"

The crowd cheered and Brock and Misty joined in with them.

Meanwhile, Ash and Pikachu were doing a small victory dance, shouting, "Two down one more to go!"

Misty sighed, "At least Ash isn't nervous anymore."

Brock said in reply, "Yeah and he is doing great!"

The announcer took the opportunity to get a few words of his own in, "Well, Ketchum has knocked out two of his opponents Pokemon. Can Mandi make a magical comeback?"

Mandi confidently said, "He can and he will."

This shut up Ash's moment and he focused his attention back to the battle.

Mandi threw another Pokeball and cried out, "Now Pokemon fans! It's time for Golbat to battle!"

Golbat jumped out of the Pokeball and the blue and purple bat Pokemon flew took flight.

This alerted Brock and Misty. Brock cried out, "Ash! Kingler can't attack anything in the air!"

Ash reassuringly told them, "It's fine, I have a plan!"

Misty just said, "Oh boy…"

Mandi began the battle and commanded, "Golbat! **Leech Life** attack!"

Ash quickly commanded, " **Leer** and dodge!"

Mandi cackled and yelled, "Your Kingler is too slow, watch what happens boy!"

True to his word, Mandy's Golbat's fangs glowed green and it zoomed at amazing speeds towards Kingler, completely unfazed the leer tha Kingler shot towards it. Before Kingler had any time to dodge, it flew behind and bit down, draining Kinglers energy and making it cry out in pain and collapse.

Ash cried out in shock, "Kingler! No!"

Mandi quickly called out another attack, "Now Golbat, **Razor Wind**!"

Golbat began flapping its wings, summoning winds, preparing to throw them at Kingler. Kingler held its claws down and tried to stand back up.

Ash quickly said, "Kingler, jump into the water!"

Kingler struggled but managed to jump into the water right as Golbat shot its Razor Wind attack at it.

Mandi stared at the water and smirked, "Golbat, **Wing Attack**!"

Golbat did a loop in the air and its wings began to glow as it descended towards the water.

Ash saw his opportunity of attack and cried out, "Kingler! **Vice Grip**!"

But Mandi was one step ahead, "You fell in a trap, **Poison Fang**!"

Kingler shot out of the water just as Golbat got close, but Golbat easily evaded Kinglers claw and swung behind Kingler, biting into its back with a venomous bite. Kingler grimaced in pain as it fell back into the water, while Golbat flew back into the sky, avoiding the splash Kingler made.

Ash growled in frustration, but looked at Golbat and then realized something.

He quickly began initiating his new plan. "Kingler jump out of the water and onto the pontoon!"

Mandi saw this and laughed, "Giving up hiding huh? Golbat **Wing Attack**!"

Ash smirked and waited. Golbat quickly descended, ready to strike Kingler as it climbed onto the pontoon. Suddenly Ash yelled, " **Crabhammer** over and over on the water!"

Everyone in the crowd stared at Ash in confusion. Misty and Brock also stared at Ash in confusion. What was he planning?

Kingler instantly understood his trainers plan and begun hammering at the water, creating splashes and giant waves, disturbing the water quite a bit. This forced Golbat to abort its attack and fly back to a safe height.

Mandi said with a hint of annoyance, "You may have stopped my Golbat's attack, but you are still unable to attack it back! **Razor Wind**!"

Ash smiled and retorted, "Oh really? Kingler! Ride the waves into the air!"

Kingler suddenly stopped hammering the water and jumped in, riding a wave that he had created, dodging the Razor Wind that Golbat shot at it. The wave took him higher and higher until he was launched above Golbat.

Everyone gasped in shock. The announcer cried out, "What a stunning turnaround, Kingler used its own attack to fling itself into the air, Golbat's advantage is lost!"

Misty then realized something and yelled at Ash, "Ash! Kingler just learned **Surf**!"

Ash saw this and said, "Alright! Kingler, you learned **Surf** Attack!"

Mandi looked at the flying Kingler and yelled, "No matter! Golbat **Leech Life** it!"

Golbat looked up, but instantly flinched as the sunlight was in its way. Kingler had positioned itself so that from Golbat's view, he was in line with the sun. It closed its eyes, unable to handle the sunlight. Mandy gasped in shock.

Ash then yelled, "Doesn't look like Golbat can handle the sun! Kingler **Stomp**!"

Mandi cried out, "Oh no! Golbat open your eyes!"

Unfortunately, Golbat was still stunned from the sunlight hitting its sensitive eyes, that it couldn't dodge Kingler who slammed its feet into it, smashing Golbat into a pontoon, causing it to splash the water around it. After the devastating impact, Golbat attempted to fly off, but its wing was hurt and it couldn't fly. Kingler on the other hand, was ready to finish the battle.

But Mandy and Golbat were not finished yet. "Golbat **Wing Attack**!"

Ash retalitated, "Kingler **Crabhammer**!"

At this point the two Pokemon began to fight Wing to Claw. With his good wing, Golbat slashed and struck Kingler, while Kingler countered with his Crabhammer blocking and striking back. The two battled hard, but the injuries they held began to show, as they fought back and forth.

Ash then cried out, "Alright! Kingler finish this with **Surf**!"

Kingler jumped back from the fight and summoned a wave, jumping on it. With no flight to escape, Golbat was smothered by the wave and when the water parted, it was knocked out.

The referee yelled, "Golbat is unable to battle, therefore Ash Ketchum is victorious!"

Mandi looked at his fallen Pokemon and said, "There's no way. I'm Mandi the Astounding. How could I lose?"

Ash looked at the scoreboard in shock. 3 - 0. He won. He jumped in joy, "Alright! We won!"

The crowd cheered, and Ash jumped onto the field to hug Kingler, who enjoyed the affection. Ash quickly returned Kingler, took Pikachu and left the field to join Misty and Brock.

The announcer made his comment as well, "Incredible, Rookie Ash Ketchum has just scored a stunning victory without changing Pokemon once!"

Ash quickly ran to the coaches box and Misty and Brock clapped for him. They left the field together to go back to their room to relax.

Ash walked out of the stadium and thought to himself, " _I won the first round! My goal of becoming a Pokemon Master is getting closer and closer!"_

* * *

 **Alright, Ash has won his first battle. I wanted his battles to not just be two Pokemon fighting each other, but involve the crazy strategies that Ash usually uses. The next few rounds will be just as intense, and possibly just as long. Please review and help me make this story better. And don't think I forgot about Team Rocket, they will be back. Trust me. :)**

 **Also I will be putting up a poll on my profile page for Ash's Dratini. Personally, I am conflicted about whether I should evolve it or not. So I'm having the readers vote.**


	9. Chapter 9: The Beak And The Talon

**First of all it has been decided that Dratini will evolve. Since most voters thought that would be appropriate. I will not say when she will evolve, but she will.**

 **Secondly, I will doing a different style of Author Notes soon so prepare for that.**

 **Lastly, I will be announcing that I will be adding new content in the future that is not canon to Pokemon. This stuff will be impactful on the story but won't take too much away from Pokemon.**

 **Miracle: So let the next chapter begin! - v -**

(Chapter 9: The Beak And The Talon)

* * *

With his first victory stuck in his mind, Ash walked towards the reception of the Pokemon League with his friends at his side. It was still the afternoon of the first round of the Pokemon League and the streets around the area were quiet and barren as most people were either battling or watching at this time. Pikachu was lazilly taking a nap on Ash's shoulder and Dratini decided to lightly coil around his neck. Soon, they approached a red roofed building, Ash recognized it as the reception building and quickly entered. He wanted to find out who his next opponent would be and on what field the battle would occur on.

Ash walked up to the reception counter in the building and spoke to the receptionist, "Hi, I'm Ash Ketchum and I want to know when and where my next battle will take place."

The receptionist looked down at her computer and politely replied, "You said your name was Ash Ketchum right? It says here that your next match is in the Ice Arena, 10:00 in the morning, tomorrow."

Ash then asked, "Thank you. Do you-"

Brock quickly cut in with a goofy grin on his face, "-want to spend some time with me, so we can get to know eachother, alone?"

Before any reaction could occur, Misty immediately grabbed Brock by the ear and dragged him away. "OWww! It hurts, not even getting a chance for reply."

Misty angriley cried out, "Well even if she did reply, I think it's a no!"

Ash and the receptionist sweatdropped as Brock was pulled out of the building. They quickly went back to their conversation, "Um, Do you know who my opponent is?"

The receptionist replied, "I believe it's a trainer name Kathlyn Vine."

Ash quickly thanked the receptionist and left to go find Brock and Misty. He didn't need to look far as he heard a giant smash sound. He walked across a few roads, towards where the sound came from and saw Brock lying on the ground, groaning, with Misty on top holding her giant mallet, panting.

Ash saw that a few girls were having a picnic nearby and sighed as he figured out what happend. He wasn't a stranger to Brock's actions and intentions, he figured out what Brock was doing a long time ago, but decided to just play innocent every time romance would come up in a conversation, leading his friends to believe he was very dense.

He called out to his friends, "Hey Brock! Misty! I figured out who I'm battling next round!"

Misty looked up, scowl turning back into a smile, "Who is it Ash?"

Ash replied, "Some girl named Kathlyn."

Brock instantly stood back up and said, "I wonder if she is GAH-"

Misty dropped her mallet on Brock again, forcing him face first into the dirt again. "Anyways Ash, since you have some time this time, I think you should go to the Pokemon Center and research your opponent. Since the first round is ending, her information should be updated in the leagues computers at the Pokemon Center."

Brock groaned from the ground, "G..ood I… dea…"

Soon, the trio managed to get back to the Pokemon Center. The sun had begun to set and the streets were busy once again in the League as people rushed to go to their hotels, or go out to eat and shop.

The second Ash entered the Pokemon Center, he walked over to the Trainer Room and got onto a computer. After turning it on, he began the grueling task of researching his opponent with the help of Misty and Brock. On the computer, there was many databases that trainers could access, one of them being a trainer database, showing the Pokemon that a trainer has used. Specifically, Ash was looking for Kathlyn's data. He wanted to see if this trainer was as powerful and stuck up like Mandi. Soon, Ash found her file and looked through it. He stared in surprise as he saw that she wasn't what he had expected. Unlike the trainers he had seen so far, this trainer was actually quite nice.

When he looked in her file, the first thing that came up was a news report. It was a report about her retrieving a set of badges for a trainer named Otoshi, who had his badges stolen by a gang of crooks. Next, he saw a small resume and profile. In this profile he read that she was actually a Pokemon Breeder in training and a certified Pokemon Doctor as well. She had taken up battling as a hobby and was quite gifted at it, enough that she postponed her training as a Breeder, to take on the Indigo League.

Lastly, there was her League file. Funny enough, she ended up battling in the grass field against the same trainer she had helped with their badges. She had used a plethora of Pokemon of many types, so it was hard to determine which she would use. In her battle against Otoshi, she had used a Togetic, the evolved form of Misty's companion, Togepi, and a Gyarados.

Then, Ash heard a voice nearby, "Ash Ketchum… where is his file? Why are computers so difficult?"

Ash turned around and saw a short, blonde, teenage girl struggling with a computer. She was wearing a casual orange hoodie and dark sweatpants. Suddenly, Brock ran up to her and said, "Do you need help, my dear. Because I need help as well, for my pounding heart for- GAHH!"

Misty quickly dragged Brock away by the ear, yelling at him. "AGAIN? WHEN WILL YOU EVER LEARN!"

As the two trainer watched this happen, this got the girls attention towards Ash, "Hey, your Ash right?"

Ash turned around and said, "Yeah."

The girl took down her hood and Ash recognized her immediately, "Oh, your Kathlyn right? Your my next opponent."

Kathlyn nodded and said, "Yeah, I guess your doing some researching too, right?"

Ash smiled and said, "Of course, I need to be ready for our battle tomorrow."

Kathlyn saw Ash's look of determination and giggled. Then, her eyes shifted towards the Pikachu on his shoulder.

"Wow, your Pikachu's fur is really shiny. You must take good care of it." Kathlyn said with a smile. Her smile turned into a look of concern when she looked at Dratini.

Ash saw this look and asked, "What's wrong?"

Kathlyn reached out to touch Dratini, she frowned and said, "Though your Dratini looks a bit on the weak side. Who make the food for your Pokemon?"

Ash turned around to where Brock and Misty were sitting and said, "That guy over there is my friend Brock, he makes our Pokemon's food."

Kathlyn stood up and walked towards Brock, much to Misty's surprise. She said, "Your Brock right? I think the food you're giving that Dratini is too dry."

Brock instantly went from goofy to serious and Ash and Misty watched as the two began a long conversation about Pokemon breeding.

Soon, Kathlyn left and Brock went to a nearby market to buy food and berries. Misty realized that she also had to feed Togepi who had been quiet for a while. She left to her room in the Pokemon Center. Ash decided to go to the cafeteria and talk to his Pokemon for a bit.

Ash entered the mid-sized cafeteria in the Pokemon Center and got some food for him and a bit of ketchup for Pikachu. Remembering Kathlyns words, he also got a bit of water for Dratini, who happily drank it up.

Then Ash asked Pikachu, "So who do you think should battle Kathlyn?"

Pikachu took a lick of his ketchup and replied with, "I dunno, but if she uses that Gyarados, I'm totally frying it!"

Dratini also said, "I'll pass too, I'd rather not fight on a field of ice. Maybe give one of your Pokemon back at the ranch a chance to battle."

Ash took a bite out of his food and said, "Maybe. Against Water and Ice types that would normally be used, Venusaur might not be that bad of an idea. Tauros might want to battle too."

Ash then finished his food and said, "Alright, I think I'll use Venusaur, Tauros and Fearow."

Ash left the cafeteria with Pikachu and Dratini and went over to a PC, contacting Professor Oak to transfer his Venusaur and Tauros to his party. He decided to leave Kingler and Squirtle back at the ranch. After he was done, he left the center to release his Pokemon and create a battle plan.

Soon, Ash returned to his room and fell asleep on his bed with Pikachu and Dratini.

Eventually, morning came again and Pikachu woke up to the sunlight passing through the window in the room. Pikachu yawned and shook Dratini awake. After the two got off the bed, Pikachu used Thunderbolt.

"AGHAOHOFIJWHIOUGBIUONBIUWNNBKJDB" Ash cried as he woke up from the attack.

Pikachu and Dratini just laughed at him. After that, Ash got dressed, brushed his teeth and met up with his friends downstairs to eat breakfast along with his Pokemon. Then he sent his Pokemon to get checked by Nurse Joy. When he was done, he took one look at the clock in the Pokemon Center.

The clock read 9:30.

Soon, he heard a familiar "ding" in the Pokemon Center and went over to Nurse Joy who gave back his Pokemon, saying that they were all healthy. Then, he along with Misty and Brock dashed out of the center and headed for the Ice Arena. This time however, he went alone, as Misty and Brock would simply watch from the stadium seats.

Ash dashed towards the Arena and made it into the waiting room with a few minutes to spare. He spent those minutes talking to Pikachu and Dratini who were talking about learning Thunder Wave.

Then, he heard the announcer say on the P.A system, "Would Ash Ketchum and Kathlyn Vine please enter the Ice Arena."

Ash stood up and walked onto the field, entering on the red side, while Kathlyn stood on the green side. The field was completely made up of opaque ice with a few clear pillars surrounding the flat terrain.

To Ash, the announcer's voice was simply a blur to him as he focused on the match. He knew Kathlyn was experienced, so she would not be easy to beat.

Kathlyn yelled out, "May the best trainer win."

Ash replied with, "Agreed!"

The referee yelled, "This will be a 3 on 3 battle with substitutions allowed. Since both trainers are ready, Let The Battle Begin!"

 **(ASH VERSUS KATHLYN)**

 **[3 v 3]**

Kathlyn threw a Pokeball and yelled, "Alright, Arcanine I'm counting on you!"

The Pokeball opened and sent out a large, orange and beige canine with jagged, black stripes. Arcanine jumped onto the field and crouched down, ready to strike it's opponent at any time.

Ash looked at the Fire-type and thought, " _A Fire-Type on an Ice Field? Either she made a mistake, or is planning something."_

He took his Tauro's Pokeball off his belt and threw it, yelling, "I choose Tauros!"

The large bull Pokemon jumped out of the ball, but was not nearly as graceful as Arcanine as it slipped a bit when it entered the field, not able to balance very well on the slippery ice.

Unfortunately, Ash didn't see this and yelled, "Tauros use **Take Down**!"

Kathlyn smiled at that and said, "Use the ice and dodge it."

Tauros began to build up speed to ram Arcanine, but was unable to build up much as it kept slipping on the ice. Arcanine slid on the ice swiftly and braced on a pillar to stop, dodging the attack. Tauros was unable to stop and slammed into a pillar instead.

Ash looked out in shock, "Tauros! Are you okay?"

Kathlyn put on a look of determination and yelled, "Arcanine **Ember**!"

Arcanine opened his jaw and shot out a fast stream of embers towards Tauros. The embers quickly reached Tauros before it could dodge and hit it causing Tauros to grunt in pain.

Ash looked on with confusion, " _Why would she use_ _ **Ember**_ _? Surely her Arcanine must know stronger attacks."_

Kathlyn saw this and yelled out, " **Quick Attack** , same trajectory!"

Arcanine then charged towards Tauros on the ice, sliding much faster than normal, and ramming the dazed Tauros further into the pillar it had already hit.

Ash grimaced and then noticed a bit of light in his eyes. He looked toward the source of the light and gasped. There was water on the field, not much but enough to make the ice even more slippery. " _That's why she used_ _**Ember**_ _! It only melted the field a little bit, to make water and allow Arcanine to slide faster across the ice!"_

Ash then yelled out, "Tauros, change of plan! **Earthquake**!"

Kathlyn's eyes widened and she quickly grabbed a Pokeball and yelled, "Arcanine return!, Blastoise I choose you!"

Arcanine quickly returned to its Pokeball as a large blue turtle Pokemon with two cannons mounted from its shell appeared on the field. At this point Tauros had recovered from earlier and managed to stand up, quickly smashing its front hooves into the ice, creating a powerful earthquake that hit Blastoise head on. However, Blastoise was hardly phased.

Kathlyn quickly commanded, "Blastoise, **Rapid Spin** attack! Angular Attack!"

Blastoise immediately jumped into its shell and began spinning at an extremely fast pace. It began to charge towards Tauros who had braced for the attack, but it veered off-course, bouncing off an ice pillar and headed towards Tauros's side. The attack hit Tauros by surprise and knocked it into another ice pillar.

Ash grimaced and yelled, "Tauros use **Horn Attack**!"

Kathlyn confidently said, " **Rapid Spin** again!"

Blastoise jumped back into its shell and spun again, but this time managed to smash into Tauros much faster, giving it no time to react. Blastoise, jumped back and landed on the ice, while Tauros struggled to get up. It eventually managed to stand up and charge towards Blastoise with its horns.

Kathlyn quickly countered, "Blastoise, **Withdraw**!"

Blastoise jumped back into its shell, just as Tauros impacted it, causing the shell to slide backwards and bounce off another ice pillar and back towards Tauros, knocking it back down.

Kathlyn cheered and said, "We aren't done yet! **Double Team**!"

Suddenly, a bunch of Blastoise clones appeared all over the arena, each withdrawing into its shell and sliding along the ice.

Ash thought for a moment and yelled out, " **Earthquake** now!"

Unfortunately for Ash and Tauros, when Tauros used Earthquake, all the clones jumped into the air, avoiding the damage completely.

Kathlyn quickly commanded, "Now **Hydro Pump**!"

Suddenly, all the clones fired large bursts of water at Tauros, knocking it into the air. Tauros landed on the ice in pain. It tried to get up, but to it and Ash's surprise, the entire field was wet ice and that caused Tauros to keep slipping, while attempting to stand up.

Kathlyn cheerfully said, "Blastoises Rapid Spin caused enough friction to melt the ice and Hydro Pump helped it out. Now Arcanine can slide even better and faster! Blastoise return!

Blastoise was recalled into its Pokeball and Arcanine was sent out again.

Kathlyn was quick to follow up, "Arcanine **Quick Attack**!"

Arcanine became a blur on the battlefield, using the wet ice and its incredible speed to move at unmatched speeds. Ash grimaced, the fact that Tauros couldn't stand up was a big disadvantage. Arcanines Ember attack and Blastoises Rapid Spin had turned the field into what Kathlyn needed to outmatch her opponent.

Ash decided to go for broke, "Tauros! **Fissure**!"

Tauros managed to shakily smash a hoof down on the ice, splitting it in two, which didn't manage to find its way to Arcanine, but did begin to drain the water on the field into the icy cracks.

Kathlyn frowned but said, "Arcanine, **Ember** attack!"

Arcanine fired embers at Tauros, who wasn't fazed by it.

Ash then yelled out, "Tauros! Use the ice and **Take Down**!"

Surprised, Kathlyn cried, " **Growl**!"

Tauros yelled out its name and slid across the ice at a high speed towards Arcanine who was also caught off-guard by the now mobile Tauros, but growled at it right before they impacted, lowering the damage. Ash knew that Tauros was hurt from the onslaught of attacks it was hit with. He had to finish the battle quickly.

Determined, Ash bellowed, "Tauros! **Horn Attack**!"

Kathlyn quickly cried out, "Counter with **Quick Attack**!"

Tauros and Arcanine both slid on the ice, charging at each other. Arcanine was quicker and jumped into the air, ready to pounce Tauros. However, to everyone's surprise, including the loud announcer who Ash and Kathlyn ignored, Arcanine had gotten caught between the two horns on Tauros's head.

Ash smirked and yelled, "Arcanine has nowhere to run! **Giga Impact**!"

Tauros covered itself with purple energy and smashed into Arcanine with all the force it could muster. However, this didn't stop Kathlyn and Arcanine.

Kathlyn quickly commanded, " **Ember** , soften the impact!"

In a blink of an eye, Arcanine fired its embers at a pillar, melting it and slowing him down. He smashed into the pillar. But Arcanine managed to get up, injured but not knocked out.

Ash cried out in surprise, "What!"

Kathlyn looked at Arcanine, who was very injured. She sighed and said, " **Extreme Speed** , twice!"

Arcanine vanished and slammed into Tauros twice on the side. When the icy dust caused by the attack settled, everyone saw Tauros collapsed with swirls in its eyes.

The referee pulled up a flag and said, "Tauros is unable to battle!"

Ash sighed and recalled Tauros. He looked at Arcanines condition and decided that Venusaur could take it down. "Venusaur! I choose you!"

Kathlyn saw this and recalled Arcanine. Much to everyone's surprise, she sent out Blastoise again.

Ash smirked and yelled, "Venusaur, **Leech Seed** and then **Vine Whip**!"

Kathlyn saw this and quickly told Blastoise, " **Rapid Spin** , then jump into the water!'

Venusaur unloaded a Leech Seed from his flower and shot it towards Blastoise, who jumped into his shell and spun, knocking the seed away and rendering it useless. Venusaur saw this and followed up by launching several vines from its back, but were unable to catch Blastoise as it disappeared into the translucent water. Ash and Venusaur began to look around, trying to see where Blastoise was. Kathlyn on the other hand noticed that the cracks in the ice were getting even worse, including a crack that happened to be near Venusaur's back. Ash noticed this and paled. "Venusaur! Get away from that crack behind you!"

Venusaur however, was too slow and Blastoise jumped out of the water, breaking some ice along with it, which gave Kathlyn and idea. "Blastoise, throw the ice at Venusaur!"

Ash desperately yelled, "Venusaur, **Sludge Bomb**!"

Thankfully, Ash's quick thinking allowed Venusaur to fire sludge at Blastoise, hitting the ice that it had thrown in mid-air, cancelling both attacks.

Ash saw the opportunity and yelled, "Venusaur, **Razor Leaf** now!"

Venusaur quickly shook its back and threw out a bunch of sharp leaves at Blastoise who failed to dodge them. Blastoise cried out in pain as the leaves cut and pelted it.

Kathlyn grimaced and grabbed Blastoises Pokeball, recalling it, then she took Arcanines Pokeball and threw it, yelling, "Arcanine, back onto the field!"

Ash quickly took action and cried, "Venusaur, quickly! **Sludge Bomb**!"

Venusaur opened its mouth and launched wads of sludge towards Arcanine. Without it's trainers command, Arcanine used Quick Attack and avoided all of the sludge. Kathlyn saw this and cheered, "Good job Arcanine! Now, **Ember**!"

Quickly after dodging the sludge, Arcanine jumped into the air and shot embers from its mouth at Venusaur who winced at the super-effective attack, but quickly shook it off. Ash noticed this and then spotted what had caused such a lack-luster reaction. The field was almost completely wet, almost like using the Water Sport attack.

Apparently, Kathlyn saw this too and she quickly yelled, "Arcanine, switch tactics, use **Growl**!"

Ash replied with, "Venusaur, **Leech Seed**!"

Arcanine breathed in a bunch of air and with growled at Venusaur with a blood curdling pitch, but Venusaur was not deterred and fired a seed at Arcanine from its bulb, which Arcanine quickly moved out of the way from, using the ice.

Ash groaned at this and thought, " _Ugh, not the ice again… wait Venusaur is much more lower to the ground and stable than Tauros, maybe I can take advantage of it too!_ "

Ash said to himself, "Here goes nothing…" then yelled out, "Venusaur follow Arcanine on the ice and use **Take Down**!"

Surprisingly, Venusaur quickly sped towards Arcanine, sliding across the ice, catching everyone off-guard. This included Arcanine, who was swiftly knocked into the air by the attack, roaring in pain.

Kathlyn however, was prepared, "Arcanine return! Blastoise, come out and **Withdraw**!"

Quickly, the two Pokemon switched and Blastoise entered its shell the second it got to the ground. Ash smirked at this and yelled, "Venusaur, **Synthesis**!"

Kathlyn saw this and responded with, "Not so fast, Blastoise! **Rain Dance**!"

Ash paled as Blastoise shot a ball of water into the sky, creating rain clouds. Soon, Venusaur was unable to fully use Synthesis due to the rain blocking out the sun.

Kathlyn quickly followed up, yelling, "Now! **Rapid Spin** and **Skull Bash**!"

Ash panicked and yelled, " **Vine Whip** , quickly!"

But it was too late, Blastoise sped across the ice in its shell with astonishing speed, and as soon as it got to Venusaur, it popped out its head and bashed Venusaur with its skull, knocking him into the wall and knocking him out before he could retaliate.

The referee saw this and yelled, "Venusaur is unable to battle! Please send out your last Pokemon!"

Ash sighed and recalled Venusaur, whispering a thank you. Then, he pulled out his last Pokeball and threw it, revealing his last Pokemon, Fearow. He told Fearow, "This is it Fearow, your my last Pokemon, and Kathlyn has all 3 of hers. Two are weakened, but they can still fight, so be careful.

Fearow nodded and chirped, "Alright, Ash! I'll do you proud!" then, he took flight and gave out a war cry.

Kathlyn waited for Ash to finish talking to Fearow and then quickly ordered, "Blastoise, **Hydro Pump** on the ice, then use **Rapid Spin** to throw it into the air!

Blastoise nodded and launched a Hydro Pump on the field, breaking the ice with the pressure of the attack. Then he jumped into the water and spun, causing the water to splash and the ice to get thrown into the air. However, Ash and Fearow were prepared, as Kingler had a similar tactic and Fearow was used to dodging it. The ice was the only problem, but a quick Fury Attack, smashed it before it would become a problem.

Suddenly, Fearow called for Ash, "I think I can drill peck it underwater!" Ash heard it and looked at Blastoise who was in the water, but tired. Then he yelled, "Alright, **Drill Peck**!"

Fearow tucked his wings back towards his body and dive bombed the tired Blastoise. Kathlyn grimaced, knowing that Blastoise couldn't dodge it, so she then yelled, " **Withdraw** quickly!"

Unfortunately for Fearow, Blastoise managed to retreat into its shell in the water. This did not deter Fearow as he plunged into the cold water and struck one of the shell's holes, striking a critical hit and ruining Blastoises defense. Then, Fearow drilled out of the water and shook off the water from its feathers, quickly taking flight a second later.

Kathlyn quickly pulled out Blastoises Pokeball and yelled out, "Blastoise return!"

Ash smirked and said, " **Pursuit**."

Kathlyn paled as Fearow disappeared and then reappeared behind Blastoise, smacking it with its wing and knocking it out.

The referee yelled, "Blastoise is unable to battle! Fearow is the winner!"

Kathlyn quickly returned Blastoise and after whispering a few words of gratitude, she threw Arcanines ball and said, "Arcanine, I need you!"

Kathlyn wasted no time and commanded, "Arcanine, shoot that bird down with **Ember**!"

Arcanine swiftly fired embers towards Fearow, who easily dodged the attacks. Ash was about to retaliate but he noticed something and instead yelled, "Fearow! Keep dodging!"

Trusting his trainer, Fearow continued to dodge ember after ember from the now tired Arcanine.

Suddenly, Kathlyn realized what Ash was doing. She looked down onto the field and to her horror, almost all of the ice had melted, and the field was almost completely water, with the exception of a small iceberg that Arcanine was currently on.

Ash then yelled, "Fearow, **Pursuit**! Then, use **Drill Run**!"

Kathlyn panicked and then screamed, " **Growl**! Now!"

Arcanine saw it had no place to run and got ready to growl, but was suddenly knocked off the ice by Fearows Pursuit attack. Vulnerable and in the air, it was easy prey for Fearows Drill Run attack, causing it to land in the water unconscious.

The referee quickly yelled, "Arcanine is unable to battle! Please send out your last Pokemon!"

Ash and Fearow cheered in unison as Kathlyn returned Arcanine. She then pulled out her last Pokeball and cried out, "Pidgeot, let's finish this!"

Pidgeot escaped from the ball and flew into the air. She saw Fearow and the two instantly glared at each other. Ash and Kathlyn noticed this and sweatdropped.

Kathlyn then said to Ash, "Well, this is it. The final battle. May the best trainer win!"

Ash nodded and yelled, "Agreed!"

Kathlyn then put on a look of determination and yelled, "Pidgeot! Engage with **Double Team**!"

Ash also put on a look of determination and yelled, "Fearow, strike every single one down with **Fury Attack**!"

Soon, Pidgeot began to split into multiple clones in the air, but Fearow quickly flew towards each one and broke them, eventually hitting the real Pidgeot causing it to squawk in pain.

Kathlyn winced but then yelled, "Pidgeot! **Twister** "

Pidgeot heard the command and quickly began to fly around Fearow, creating a giant twister swallowing Fearow whole. Ash was not deterred and screamed, "Fearow, escape with **Pursuit**!"

Kathlyn heard this and yelled, "Watch out behind you!"

Pidgeot quickly heard its trainer and flew away as Fearow appeared behind her.

Kathlyn then said, "Pidgeot, weaken it with **Feather Dance**!"

Ash smirked and hollered, "Fearow, show them your training, **Drill Run**!"

As a faster Pokemon, Pidgeot got to a safe distance away from Fearow and then began to fire feathers at it. Fearow just continued to fly towards them, but then began to spin in the air, pulverizing the feathers and closing the distance between the two birds.

Just as Fearow got close to Pidgeot, Kathlyn smirked for once and yelled, **Double Team**! And finish it off with **Sky Attack**!"

Fearow lunged at Pidgeot, only to find out it was a fake. He looked around, surrounded by Pidgeot clones as they closed in with a white aura around them. His cried out in pain as he was hit with the attack creating an explosion in the air. Pidgeot flew out of the explosion while Fearow fell out of the air.

Ash gasped and yelled, "Fearow! Snap out of it, I know you can do it!"

Suddenly, Fearows eyes opened from Ash's voice and it clumsily extended its wings and regained flight.

However, Kathlyn and Pidgeot were already prepared and Fearow found himself surrounded by yet another Twister that knocked it around in the air. He began to squawk in pain, but Ash's words resonated within his mind.

" _Snap out of it, I know you can do it!"_

With a new resolve, Fearow began to shine from within the Twister.

Meanwhile Ash watched in shock as twister continued to confine Fearow. He was about to surrender, but then, he heard a loud squawk from inside the twister.

Then, both Ash and Kathlyns eyes widened as Fearow burst out of the twister, glowing with a fiery blue aura.

Ash recognized the attack as Brave Bird and cheered. Fearow looked at its trainer and thenat Pidgeot, as it rammed Pidgeot with all the force it could muster.

Only to go straight through it. Ash quickly stopped cheering and yelled, "Fearow! Pidgeots Double Team is still in effect!"

Ash grimaced as he tried to figure out how to catch Pidgeot, as many clones were flying around in the air, and Fearow was weakened and vulnerable. His eyes stopped at the water and an idea popped into his head.

Then, Ash yelled, "Fearow, descend to the water! **Drill Run**!"

Kathlyn saw this and said, "Pidgeot! **Quick Attack**!"

With all the speed it could manage, Fearow dive bombed towards the water and began to rotate in mid-air. Pidgeot tried to hit it, but Fearow quickly got to the water and dived in, causing the water to splash and make waves, catching Pidgeot off-guard.

Kathlyn gasped as Ash yelled, "Now Fearow! **Brave Bird**!"

Pidgeot paled as Fearow jumped out of the water with a fiery blue aura surrounding it. Pidgeot tried to escape, but the water had slowed down its wings, while Fearow was undeterred. They collided in mid air and this time, Pidgeot was the one to fall out of the air. She landed on the only piece of ice left and quickly got up. However, Ash and Kathlyn both looked at Pidgeot and gasped. Confused, Pidgeot followed their gazes and her eyes widened.

Her wing was broken. Bent at an awkward angle, with feathers bulging out in different directions.

Quickly, Kathlyn assessed the situation and looked at the referee. She sighed and then weakly said, "I...I forfeit."

The referee nodded and said, "Kathlyn has forfeited Pidgeot out of the match, therefore Ash Ketchum is the winner!"

Kathlyn quickly returned Pidgeot and looked down in shame. However, to her surprise, she heard clapping, she looked up and saw Ash clapping for her. Soon, the crowd followed, and even the announcer that nobody was listening too, cried out while clapping. "Unbelievable, Pokemon Trainer Kathlyn Vine has forfeited the match for her Pidgeot! What a caring and worthy trainer to be participating in this years event! The crowd is going wild!"

With a small tear on her cheek, she left the stadium to go heal her Pokemon.

Later that day, Ash went over with Brock and Misty to the Pokemon Center to check on Kathlyns Pidgeot. Thankfully, it had made a full recovery as Kathlyn had spotted it before it got into any worse condition. After, Kathlyn congratulated Ash and told them that she would be going home, but cheering for Ash.

As soon as she left, Ash and his friends decided to check out his next match. They quickly arrived at the reception building. As usual, Brock was hammered by Misty for his antics as Ash asked the receptionist, "I'm Ash Ketchum and I would like to know where my next battle is taking place please."

The receptionist shot a glare of annoyance at Brock and then took a look at her computer. She then replied, "You will be in the Rock field, an hour past noon. Your opponent is someone named… Damien?"

Everyone froze.

* * *

 **Miracle: Looks like Ash was victorious again. :)**

 **Caitlyn: Of course he would be. You are writing the story after all. .**

 **Miracle: Whatever :(**

 **Caitlyn: Anyways, looks like we are being recorded. The new author notes must be being made. .Y.**

 **Miracle: Yay! I won't have to awkwardly type a random statement in bold anymore! Also, meet Caitlyn, one of the team members who help with the story. (and inspiration for Ash's opponent in this round) ^ v ^**

 **Caitlyn: … Seriously? That's what you do? ._.'**

 **Miracle: It's not important. What is important is that we now have a working author segment to this story, Caitlyn! ;)**

 **Caitlyn: Wait, usually when author segments are done like this in pokemon stories, Pokemon mess it up and break the fourth wall. Are you sure we are safe here? 0 - o**

 **Miracle: Relax, the wall is reinforced in this story! It's not like other ones, a normal Pokemon can't break that wall! (^ u ^)**

 **Caitlyn: I guess… Anyways, we should also inform the audience that Pokemon are not limited to 4 moves in this fic.**

 **Miracle: Right, they are technically limited, but not due to some random force, but rather by simple muscle memory. In theory, a Pokemon can learn more than 4, but they need to train extra hard to obtain more, (Or if they know a move like Thunderbolt, technically they can downgrade it to something like Thundershock…)**

 **Caitlyn: Yeah! It makes the battles much more interesting! Though, most will only use 4 moves, with exceptions being Pokemon who can handle more!**

 **Mew: Wassup! (6u6)**

 **Caitlyn: … :(**

 **Miracle: … D:**

 **Mew: If you are wondering why I'm here. I'm just here to inform you about a small error that you made! Well, during the first version of these chapters at least. (^u^)**

 **Miracle: Wh..What do you mean? (._.)**

 **Mew: You forgot a character! And she is not happy! :)**

 **Caitlyn: Who?**

 **Mew: Did you forget about a certain fairy-type that hangs out with Misty?**

 **Caitlyn: … - _ -;**

 **Miracle: … Actually no. ...I'll explain why later.**

 **Mew: What?**

 **Caitlyn: *looks at plot outline* Ah yes, that's why!**

 **Mew: TELL ME!**

 **Miracle: No.**

 **Mew: Your funeral then ;)**

 **(Screams and panic ensue in the dimension of author notes.)**


	10. Chapter 2 Is being revamped!

Notice: Hey guys, another update for the release of The Miracle That Is Ash Ketchum - The Curse of Death (new title Yay!)

Obviously, Chapter 2 is going to have some of the biggest changes so far, due to it being super bad. Funny enough, most of my writing so far has been new content, to make the transition between Chapter 1 and the rest of the story better.

The chapter has already more than doubled in length, and if things go as planned, it may reach over 20000 words, maybe, possibly idk.

With this comes A PREVIEW :D:D:D:D:D: (unedited, may be changed) This time there will be no release date, as Idk when its coming out.

 **PREVIEW FOR CHAPTER 2**

From the middle of a small motorboat, Ash stared longingly at the empty ocean that surrounded him. The blazing sunlight that came from the cloudless sky above him, producing a beautiful shine as it swept across the waves of the ocean. He watched breathlessly as small waves of seawater flowed towards him, bouncing back when it hit the boat, each time producing a small splash, flinging water in different directions while producing a salty smell that filled the surrounding air. The feeling that surrounded him, intrigued him and comforted him. Most people would feel like they were at peace, but Ash had fears deep down that this temporary comfort was a mask for destruction.

He sighed.

Turning away from the ocean, he looked down at his lap, seeing his starter sleeping soundly on his lap. Autonomously, he began stroking the adorable starter as he reflected on his journey. When he looked back through his memories, he realized that he never had a chance to truly enjoy the ocean in his life, up until now. He stayed away from the ocean as a kid, opting to hang out with the land Pokemon at Professor Oak's ranch. His journey provided no more proper memories of great times across the endless waters, as they were plagued with bad memories instead.

It was a long time before he would get used to this, he stared blankly towards the ocean, all that flooded through his mind were nightmares and bits of fighting.

 _Ash backed away in fear, the eyes of the beast that lay before him terrified him. He wasn't sure why the others had not shown any signs of fear. Were they frozen in fear, shock, awe? He wasn't sure but that was the least of his concerns at the moment. He could see it in the eyes of the massive dragon that was approaching the lighthouse, it's piercing gaze that he swore had already begun to burn him to cinders, the massive claws that would render skyscrapers into crumbled ruins, let alone the small lighthouse that provided the only shelter he could depend on. The others could not see, nor tell, but Ash knew that whatever this creature was, it meant for their demise, he could feel the murderous aura it displayed, even without fully seeing it. Looking back towards his friends, they were still stuck, and the man he just met, Bill, was even calling out towards it. What were they thinking? He closed his eyes and held Pikachu in his arms, nothing he had would save him. None of his friends could stand up to the beast, they were safe in their balls. He heard an explosion and braced himself._

 _Yet, he felt nothing. He slowly opened one eye, and then both snapped open. He gaped in silent shock as he saw Team Rocket, out of all people, attacking the dragon. What in the hell was wrong with them? Not that he was complaining of course, for once, he was actually thankful the trio of thieves that had popped out of nowhere, again. Though he felt a pang of regret as the dragon turned it's head towards them, ready to reveal it's_ true _power in retaliation…_

…

…

 _Ash gasped and ran, running through the halls of the once proud and mighty St. Anne, now rocking dangerously back and forth, with a force that nearly threw him off his feet every step. But he couldn't stop, his Butterfree's Pokeball was just within arms reach! Screw the lifeboats, he would leave none behind, and his Butterfree, the first Pokemon he ever caught was definitely not the one who would be left behind. He reached his arms out and lunged, catching the ball in mid-air. He gasped in glee as he quickly pulled his arms back to cradle the ball, not watching where his feet were landing. His rush of excitement turned to dread as his foot landed on the wrong angle of the wooden floor. He tripped just as the largest shockwave he ever felt ran throughout the boat. He felt himself get thrown off of his feet, gravity and forces merging, as everything around him shifted. The last thing he heard was a scream from his starter as everything went black…_

…

…

 _Did that idiot of a woman just kick that Magikarp? … yes, she did. Misty and Brock paled as the white flash of evolution burst into the air, and Ash knew exactly why. Gyarados were powerful creatures filled with rage and viciousness. In the past, nobody ever travelled by sea without an electric type simply to ward off the wrath of these legendary sea creatures and even still it would not deter them. They were simply too powerful for most Pokemon to compete against. It was part of that reason that despite being a Dragon Master, Lance of the Elite Four had one of these beasts. It was so powerful, it might as well have been a dragon. Now, he would face the wrath of one firsthand._

 _The creature grew and grew and grew, still basked in the white light. Its body became snake-like and fins and fangs grew out of it. Then, the light burst and it roared the loudest roar Ash had ever heard, nearly knocking him off the small, dingy raft he and his companions had scavenged together. With no land in sight, Ash knew this was the end. There was no possible way that his unusually powerful luck would get them out of this situation unscathed. He watched on in horror as the idiots began yelling at the Gyarados, he wasn't focused enough to hear what they said, he was focused on the jaws of the beast, which were glowing amber red. It was ready to fire Dragon Rage. Ash hugged his starter, who hugged him back, squirming in his chest. The amber light danced around them as the attack struck them dead on…_

…

…

 _Ash jumped out of the way as concrete beam nearly crushed him. He scowled as he pulled a Pokeball off of his belt, staring intently at the absolutely gigantic Tentacruel that stood before them. Normally, he wouldn't follow any of that bastard women's words, the Tentacruel and Tentacool were normally surprisingly peaceful Pokemon, that attacked viciously upon provocation, or when hunting. However, he wasn't really given much choice right now, as this particular Tentacruel was a bit too big to ignore. How the hell did it even get to that size, and why did he feel like Team Rocket was behind this? He stepped back and sent out all of his friends. Behind him, he could hear Misty and Brock doing the same. He looked around at the once beautiful beach, now covered head to toe in Tentacool, he looked around at the ruins, that once contained many people, working, playing and living. He racked his brain and saw the air was now clear, and he quickly formulated a plan. His Pokemon were still in their younger stages, making them quite light, light enough for their fliers to carry them. It was a stretch, but he knew an aerial attack was his best bet. He looked back at his friends, Brock who had probably also realized Ash's plan, and surprisingly Misty, who seemed to be ready to do something of her own. He let it go, Misty was a water Pokemon trainer, so he trusted that whatever she had planned would be effective. He took a quick look at the ocean and grimaced. It seemed every time he was near it, something bad would happen… was he cursed? … Whatever there was no time for idle pondering at the moment, now was the time for action…_

…

…

His memories were vivid and now that he was out on the ocean, they felt real. He involuntarily shuddered as memory after memory, made themselves known in his mind. If he wasn't awake, he would have sworn he was in a nightmare. A few noises of discomfort brought him out of his musings. He looked down and noticed that he had unconsciously begun to hold Pikachu in his arms tightly, waking him up. He quickly let go and gave the small rodent an apologetic smile.

Pikachu looked back at his trainer and sat down in his lap, comfortable. "Pika Pi?" Pikachu squeaked, towards Ash in a worried tone. Ever since his temporary death, Pikachu had constantly been worried about Ash, opting to always be at his side, instead of exploring and playing around on the boat. Ash replied with a few head pats, earning a few squeals of comfort from his starter.

Mew, who was navigating the small motorboat, watched the entire scene from the front of the boat. She frowned. Ash's mental state still concerned her. The poor boy had literally died mere minutes ago, and for most people, that would cause massive mental damage to them, possibly even a mental breakdown that no therapy could even try to mitigate the effects of. Plus, considering what had happened earlier, she expected that even the strongest psychic therapies available would simply have no effect on him. His mind had a shield of unknown origin, that she could not dare trespass.

Suppressing her usual hyperactive self, she pressed into the issue. "Ash? Is something wrong?" she asked him, using a calm and serene voice in contrast to her usual cheerful and squeaky voice.

...

...

To be continued when i actually release the full chapter.


	11. Check the previous chapter pls

This mockery of a chapter is simply here to alert the readers of the preview in the previous chapter. k thx.

ALSO CHECK OUT THE NEW POLL! ON MY PROFILE! kthx


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